Pipelines, Ports and Pressure: Georgia and the Development of Transit Infrastructure in the South Caucasus

Abstract

Georgia is an important element in the development of oil and gas reserves in the wider Caspian region, providing a key transport corridor that enables the shipping of hydrocarbons from the landlocked Caspian Sea region to international markets without the need to transit Russian territory. The commercialisation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) and South Caucasus (SCP) pipelines has created substantial revenues and strengthened the economic and political links among Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and the West. Georgia will also be a crucial component of the next major pipeline project, the EU's Southern Corridor. This article explores the influence of the development of the pipeline and other transit infrastructure on Georgia's foreign policy, as the country seeks to diversify its economic and political links.