Turkmenistan OKs deals on Caspian Sea
The Turkmen parliament has approved and unanimously ratified two agreements on the Caspian Sea which were signed at the Caspian summit in Astrakhan in September 2014.
The MPs ratified the agreement on the conservation and rational use of water biological resources of the Caspian Sea and the agreement on cooperation in the prevention and elimination of emergency situations in the Caspian Sea.
The Caspian Sea is one of the world's largest oil and gas-bearing regions in the world after the Persian Gulf. The issue of the shelf's division will eventually determine the share of hydrocarbon reserves.
The legal status of the Caspian Sea has been a subject of discussion among the littoral states for over 12 years. The uncertain position of the sea hinders the implementation of oil and gas projects of billions dollars.
The positions of Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan coincide on this issue as each country can receive over 20 percent on the Caspian seabed. However, the other littoral states -Turkmenistan and Iran- have not reached a consensus yet.