Turkmenistan To Reopen Embassy In Azerbaijan

(RFE/RL) June 11, 2007 -- Turkmenistan announced today that it will reopen its embassy in Azerbaijan.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of an informal Commonwealth of Independent Stats (CIS) summit in St. Petersburg on June 9.

Turkmenistan closed its embassy in Azerbaijan six years ago because of a dispute over ownership of oil fields in the Caspian Sea.

(Turkmenistan.ru, AP)

Caspian Energy Special

For a complete archive of RFE/RL's coverage of energy issues in the Caspian Sea region and Russia, click here.

HOW MUCH OIL? The U.S. Energy Information Administration has estimated that the Caspian could hold between 17 billion and 33 billion barrels of proven oil. ("Proven reserves" are defined by energy experts to be 90 percent probable.) Other experts estimate the Caspian could hold "possible reserves" of up to 233 billion barrels of oil. ("Possible reserves" are considered to be 50 percent probable.) By comparison, Saudi Arabia has 261 billion barrels of oil and the United States 23 billion...(more)

How Vast Are The Riches In The Caspian?

Experts Envision A Future Beyond Oil