Sultan Akimbekov, Director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Asian Studies, has said that the absence of pipelines running along the seabed of the Caspian Sea remains a critical vulnerability for Central Asian countries amid growing global instability.

Speaking at the international conference “C6: One Region, Shared Future - Enhancing Strategic Dialogue” in Baku, Akimbekov pointed to long-standing geopolitical constraints that have limited the development of Trans-Caspian energy infrastructure, The Caspian Post reports via local media.

Pipeline Gap and Geopolitical Tensions

The expert said that resistance to laying pipelines across the Caspian seabed - particularly from Russia - has left regional states exposed to supply disruptions.

“We do not have such an oil pipeline, which is why Kazakhstan faced serious problems with the Caspian Pipeline Consortium after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war,” Akimbekov said.

He added that Turkmenistan also lacks a gas pipeline across the Caspian, despite years of discussions on the issue.

Crisis After CPC Terminal Attacks

Following recent attacks on CPC terminals, Kazakhstan encountered a significant export crisis. Akimbekov noted that the situation cannot currently be fully offset via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, due to insufficient transport capacity across the Caspian Sea.

C6 as a Platform for New Corridors

The analyst suggested that the C6 format could serve as a potential avenue for advancing new transport and energy corridors. However, he stressed that broader security challenges stem from the unresolved legal status of the Caspian Sea and the complex geopolitical rivalry between major powers.

“Many of today’s problems arise from the unsettled status of the Caspian Sea and the geopolitical struggle for influence between Russia and the United States,” Akimbekov concluded.