Mechanisms of International Legal Regulation of Transboundary Pipeline Projects in the Caspian Region

The Caspian region contains huge reserves of oil and gas. The complexity of implementing transboundary pipeline projects along the bottom of the Caspian Sea is associated not only with the special legal status of this body of water, but also with the different interests and political and legal positions of the Caspian and non-Caspian states. The main objective of the paper is to identify and assess the international legal mechanisms regulating the construction and operation of transboundary pipelines in the Caspian region.

The scientific novelty of the work lies in identifying gaps and problems in the application of the provisions of the 2018 Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea concerning pipelines, as well as in a comprehensive comparative legal analysis of the provisions of international treaties regulating the construction and operation of such transboundary pipelines in the Caspian region as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Supsa oil pipelines and the Nabucco gas pipeline. The authors revealed the importance of international law in the implementation of pipeline projects in the Caspian region, and identified mechanisms that allow for a balance of interests between the states participating in such projects, on the one hand, and the states and operating partners, on the other. The results of the study can be applied in the preparation of amendments to the 2018 Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea regarding the legal regime of pipelines in the Caspian Sea, as well as draft agreements on new energy projects in the Caspian region and the Eurasian region as a whole.

1. Batyr V. A. Sbalansirovannyy sovremennyy osobyy mezhdunarodno-pravovoy status Kaspiyskogo morya // Lex russica. — 2019. — № 9 (154). — S. 51–62.

2. Bekyashev K. A., Bekyashev D. K. Novyy mezhdunarodno-pravovoy rezhim Kaspiyskogo morya // Trudy VNIRO. — 2018. — № 174. — S. 129–142.

3. Glikman O. V. Tendentsii razvitiya istochnikov mezhdunarodnogo energeticheskogo prava // Mezhdunarodnoe pravo: uchebnik dlya aspirantury. — M.: Izdatelstvo RUDN, 2022. — 431 s.

4. Zhiltsov S. S., Zonn I. S. SShA v pogone za Kaspiem. — M.: Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya, 2009. — 200 s.

5. Zhiltsov S. S. Kaspiyskiy region kak geopoliticheskaya problema sovremennykh mezhdunarodnykh otnosheniy (90-e gody XX veka): dis. … d-ra polit. nauk: 23.00.04. — Moskva, 2004. — 335 s.

6. Kosov G. V., Litvishko O. M. Kaspiyskiy region v sisteme mezhdunarodnykh regionov // Vestnik VolGU. Seriya 4, Istoriya. — 2015. — № 6 (36). — S. 111–117.

7. Mamedov R. F. Mezhdunarodno-pravovoe soderzhanie i znachenie Konventsii o pravovom statuse Kaspiyskogo morya ot 12.08.2018 // Problemy postsovetskogo prostranstva. — 2019. — № 6 (2). — S. 175–194.

8. Molchakov N. Yu., Glikman O. V. Razvedka i razrabotka neftegazovykh resursov v Kaspiyskom more: voprosy pravovogo regulirovaniya // Sravnitelnaya politika. — 2022. — № 13 (1–2). — S. 58–79.

9. Nusenova A. Zh. Pravovoy status Kaspiyskogo morya: pravo na nedropolzovanie // Vestnik Instituta zakonodatelstva i pravovoy informatsii Respubliki Kazakhstan. — 2020. — № 1 (59). — S. 364–369.

10. Tolstykh V. L. Pravovoy rezhim Kaspiyskogo morya po Konventsii 2018 g. i interesy prikaspiyskikh gosudarstv // Rossiyskiy yuridicheskiy zhurnal. — 2020. — № 1. — S. 9–19.

11. Tolstykh V. L. Mezhdunarodno-pravovoy rezhim Kaspiyskogo morya: dinamika i problemy kvalifikatsii // Mezhdunarodnoe pravosudie. — 2024. — T. 14. — № 1 (49). — S. 110–135.

12. Urshulya M. Mezhdunarodno-pravovoy rezhim transgranichnykh truboprovodov: dis. … kand. yurid. nauk.: 12.00.10. — M., 2016. — 198 s.

13. Azaria D. Treaties on transit of energy via pipelines and countermeasures. — Oxford University Press, 2015. — 336 p.

14. Gayling-Westphal B. Intergovernmental Agreements and Host Government Agreements on Oil and Gas Pipelines. A Comparison / Energy Charter Secretariat. — 2015. — 846 p.

15. Kaya I. S. Evaluation of Tanap Agreements in Terms of International Law and Expropriation Law // Bilig. — 2017. — № 83. — P. 99–119.

16. Leal-Arcas R., Peykova M., Choudhury T., Makhoul M. Energy Transit: Intergovernmental Agreements on Oil and Gas Transit Pipelines // Renewable Energy Law and Policy Review. — 2015. — № 6 (2). — P. 122–162.