Synopses & Reviews
A fearless, insightful, and exacting portrait of the battle for oil, and the international struggle for wealth and power in the new century, In the tradition of The Prize, Lutz Kleveman gives us the twenty-first-century chapter on the history, passion, and politics of oil and gas resources and the struggle to control them in a critical part of the world. The new battleground for this struggle is the Caspian region, known as the "black hole of the earth" for much of the last century. The Caspian Sea contains the world's largest amount of untapped oil and gas resources. It is estimated that there might be as much as 100 billion barrels of crude oil in the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan alone. Using the concept of the "Great Game" that Rudyard Kipling immortalized in his novel Kim, Kleveman has discovered a New Great Game raging in the region, a modern variant of the nineteenth-century clash of imperial ambitions of Great Britain and czarist Russia. Only this time the stakes are higher. Desperate to wean itself from dependence on the powerful OPEC cartel, the United States is now pitted in a struggle against Russia and China, as all three nations compete for dominance in the Caspian region and access to its resources and pipeline routes. Complicating the playing field are transnational energy corporations with their own agendas and the brash new, Wild West-style entrepreneurs who have taken control after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Kleveman met with the principle New Great Game actors between Kabul and Moscow: oil barons, generals, diplomats, and warlords. Based on extensive research and travel in the Caucasus, the Caspian, and Central Asia, The New Great Gameis a gripping narrative and a savvy and incisive analysis of the power struggle for the world's remaining energy resources.
Synopsis
In the tradition of "The Prize," Kleveman gives readers the 21st-century chapter on the history, passion, and politics of oil and gas resources and the struggle to control them in a critical part of the world.
Synopsis
The Caspian Sea contains the world's largest amount of untapped oil and gas resources. It is estimated that there might be as much as 100 billion barrels of crude oil in the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan alone. Using the concept of the "Great Game" that Rudyard Kipling immortalized in his novel Kim, Lutz Kleveman has discovered a New Great Game raging in the region, a modern variant of the 19th century clash of imperial ambitions of Great Britain and czarist Russia. Only this time the stakes are higher. Desperate to wean itself from dependence on the powerful OPEC cartel, the United States is now pitted in a struggle against Russia and China, as all three nations compete for dominance in the Caspian region and access to its resources and pipeline routes. Complicating the playing field are transnational energy corporations with their own agendas and brash new entrepreneurs who have taken control after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Based on extensive research and travel in the regions, The New Great Game is a gripping narrative and a savvy analysis of the power struggle for the world's remaining energy resources.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-272) and index.