On January 26, the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center held a discussion with BP Azerbaijan's Vice President for Shah Deniz Development Al Cook on realizing gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz project, on which critical decisions and developments are expected in coming months.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso was in Turkmenistan last week negotiating ways the Caspian country's vast natural gas reserves might ameliorate European dependence on Russian resources through the so-called Southern Energy Corridor.

After a along period of political neglect the EU is finally responding to its critics by sending the President of the EU Commission, Mr. Barroso on a Caspian tour. The choice of countries is especially important – Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. Clearly, energy is at the forefront of Mr. Barroso’s agenda.

For the countries of the greater Black Sea region and Central Asia, the question of how to diversify their economies away from resource dependency or government-dominated industry is central to long-term growth and future political stability. Economic diversification is an explicit policy of energy-rich states such as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, and fostering innovation is a key part of that effort. -->

Back from the dead, the Balkan economies are picking up steam. Consumers are spending again and managers are expanding their production lines. This is good news, save one problem – energy supply.

Borut Grgic, nonresident senior fellow at Atlantic Council, was recently interviewed by the Azeri Press Agency of Azerbaijan. The interview transcript is presented below.

Ever since the beginnings of the modern petroleum industry in Azerbaijan in the mid-19th century, the country has, despite being a major oil exporter, also been a net gas importer.

In this Eurasia Center issue brief, Boyko Nitzov, Director of Programs of the Atlantic Council’s Patriciu Eurasia Center and a team of experts (Ruslan Stefanov, Valentina Nikolova, and Dobromir Hristov) from the Center for the Study of Democracy in Sofia, Bulgaria, provide sector review, findings and recommendations about energy in Bulgaria in response to the need to enhance energy security and develop consistent sustainable energy policies.