Bruce Pannier is a Central Asia analyst and appears regularly on the Majlis podcast for RFE/RL.
NATO officials and lawmakers from the alliance's member states have gathered in Reykjavik to examine the risks posed by thawing in the Arctic. The melting ice cap is opening up once-frozen shipping lanes, and countries including the United States, Russia, and Canada are rushing to lay claim to the lucrative energy reserves that lie beneath the ocean floor.
There was an air of optimism following a one-day Nabucco international gas pipeline conference in Budapest. Though the event failed to provide as much clarity as many had hoped, the conference did end with promises of financing -- although no cash yet -- and vows to start work on the pipeline this year.
European officials, financiers, and energy suppliers are in the Hungarian capital to discuss the Nabucco pipeline, which is projected to deliver natural gas from the Middle East and Caspian region to Europe -- bypassing both Russia and Ukraine. The recent gas crisis in Europe, sparked by a pricing dispute between Moscow and Kyiv, has raised interest in alternative energy routes, but many questions about Nabucco's financing and supplies still need to be resolved.
With the Kazakh president signing an agreement on civilian nuclear cooperation with India, there are signs that uranium-rich Central Asia may be poised to take advantage of the globe's anticipated move toward nuclear power.
Russia lost hundreds of millions of dollars a day by shutting off gas shipments. Ukraine lost a portion of the $3 billion it collects each year in transit fees. But the long-term consequences could prove far more significant.
Defense Minister Mamedgeldyev was seen as a key figure in bringing Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov to power. His exit, ostensibly for health reasons, could signal that the president has gained enough confidence in his post to go it alone.
Charles Esser, the energy analyst at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, says many sections of Ukraine's gas pipeline system date back to the Soviet era and make it difficult to precisely control gas flows.
Talks are reportedly continuing on a deal that would see the resumption of Russian gas shipments to Europe via Ukraine. In the meantime, an EU delegation has already arrived in Kyiv with the purpose of tracking how much gas enters and exits Ukraine. International monitors have been stationed in conflict zones to monitor cease-fires, but monitoring the fulfillment of commercial obligations may prove just as tricky.
The steady rise of oil and gas prices in the early half of 2008 had much of the world scrambling to achieve energy security, and eyeing the resource-rich Caspian basin. Foreign delegations descended on the region, eager to make deals. By the end of the year, however, the stunning fall in oil prices had complicated matters greatly.
Voters in Turkmenistan go to the polls today to elect an expanded parliament. While there are a few interesting twists to the story, the ending will no doubt have a familiar ring.
A day before Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev's expected return from medical treatment in Germany, a group of some 1,500 people demonstrated in the northern city of Talas to demand that he and his government start doing a better job -- and quickly.
Kazakhstan is due to take over the chair of the OSCE in 2010 but many, even within the OSCE, have expressed doubts about its credentials when it comes to democratic reforms and respect for basic rights. Astana appears prepared to come closer to the OSCE's ideas of democracy, but its approach to getting there falls short of the ideal.
Top officials from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Turkey, and the United States are in Baku to discuss their options for transiting Caspian energy to Europe.
Representatives from Russia, Iran and Qatar met in Tehran on October 21 to discuss trilateral cooperation and the possibility of forming a cartel of gas-exporting countries, similar to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Central Asia saw extreme cold last winter and parched fields this summer, suggesting that its five republics have added incentive to work together to share energy and water resources. But it is too early to regard the successful completion of recent talks as a sign of durable progress.
Recent accusations that Moscow uses the state gas giant Gazprom as a foreign-policy tool have resurfaced following an agreement with Kyrgyzstan. While the deal offers Gazprom very little financially, it gives Russia an excellent bargaining chip -- not only in Kyrgyzstan but in Uzbekistan as well.
The new head of Kazakhstan's state-owned oil and gas company is charting a course toward closer cooperation with Iran, and he has made it clear that the threat of sanctions against the Islamic Republic will not stand in his way.
Since a Western audit found unforeseen energy resources in Turkmenistan, all eyes are now turning to pipeline projects like White Stream. The only obstacle is Russia, which doesn't look kindly on being left out of the loop.
Turkmenistan hired a British auditing firm earlier this year to survey natural-gas fields in the country to determine if it has enough gas to fulfill its contracts. The results have now been made public, and they were far better than anyone could have imagined.
Critics of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev appear to be acutely aware of the urgency of their task in this weekend's elections. With a presidential election still two years away and the next parliamentary vote set for 2012, an increased presence on local councils could give the beleaguered opposition a desperately needed foothold.
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