A lot has been written about the oil potential of the Caspian of the Caspian Sea.Some sources have described it as the 'great prize'while others talk of it as if it were a new Kuwait.Fanciful estimates have even claimed that CaspianSea oil reserves rival those of the Middle East.Others have acscribed potential recover able reserves of 2000bn barrels to the area.The Caspian Basin has been over-promoted by some as a new Middle East,and as an alternative globalsupplier to the Gulf.Others,in contrast,seeit as an overstated high-risk oil province that will remain,to a great extent,isolated form world markets.The reality,as alwaysis somewhere in between,writes Dr Mamdouh G S alameh.
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