Caspian neither a sea nor a lake, apparently
An agreement of sorts has been reached on how to carve up the Caspian
The five countries bordering the Caspian Sea have come up with a fudged definition of its status, which while potentially confusing, has at least broken an impasse over how to divide up its waters and seabed. In doing so it could jolt some stalled oil and gas developments back into life. For years, the nations around the Caspian have haggled over whether the world's largest inland body of water should be classified as a sea or a lake. In the end, following a mid-August meeting in the Kazakh port of Aktau, those countries - Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan—agreed that it should be classified as neither and be subject to a special set of rules. It's not an academic exercis
Also in this section
9 January 2026
The Latin American producer’s crude prospects rely on a multi-pronged approach where even the relatively easy wins will take considerable time, effort and cost
9 January 2026
While many forecasters are reasserting the importance of oil and gas, petrostates should be under no illusion things are changing, and faster than they might think
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
8 January 2026
The next five years will be critical for the North Sea, and it will be policy not geology that will decide the basin’s future
