Pipe Dreams‪.‬

Abstract: Hopes for development in Central Asia have relied heavily on the enormous untapped energy wealth that rests beneath these deserts and the Caspian Sea. Although original estimates of the region's oil reserves, which ran as high as 200 billion barrels, are now considered unrealistic, the amount of energy reserves is considerable. But the difficulties in extracting and transporting these resources may limit the potential revenue. While energy remains the mainstay of some of Central Asia's economies, revenue has been inconsistent, and it is unclear whether energy resources will live up to their promise of future prosperity for these countries. With so much of economic development banked on energy, these countries have increasingly declined into economic hardship.