"U.S. Policy on Caspian Energy Development and Exports: Mini-Case and Paradigm"
Paper, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
April 30, 2001
Author: Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
Belfer Center Programs or Projects: Caspian Studies
Drawing on the Caspian Studies Program's ongoing research, my colleague Emily Van Buskirk and I prepared a case on U.S. policy on Caspian energy development and exports for a Kennedy School course I teach with Ambassador Robert Blackwill. Using the case, our sixty students examined central questions including: What is the most effective way to promote the development of Caspian energy resources? What is the proper role of government in large-scale capital projects? Where does the Caspian Basin rank in the hierarchy of U.S. national interests?
A mini-case like the one attached requires students to write a strategic options memo for the president identifying alternatives, pros and cons, and making a recommendation. The attached case starts with the real world today, accelerates developments to a fork in the road, and requires students to analyze and recommend. Specifically, in this hypothetical, the oil companies have completed their detailed engineering study of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline route and concluded that the price for construction will be $3 billion. Pledges from the companies and investors raise $2.5 billion, leaving the project $500 million short on the financing. Given U.S. government affirmations about the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline as a U.S. priority, the companies seek assistance from the U.S. government. The question is: what to do?
If you know the answer, send us a note (Graham_Allison@harvard.edu or Emily_Vanbuskirk@harvard.edu). For purposes of comparison you may be interested in the students' answers, as well as our illustrative paradigm.
— Graham Allison
Full text: 
U.S. Policy on Caspian Energy— Case.pdf
Pipelines map: color pipelines map.pdf
Front and back cover of the publication, with map and acknowledgments:
For Academic Citation:
| MOST VIEWED PUBLICATIONS | POLICY BRIEF: AUTO EMISSIONS |
|---|---|
Policy Options for Reducing Oil Consumption and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions from the U.S. Transportation Sector The goal of this paper is to contribute to the current policy debate about how to effectively limit or reduce oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. transportation sector. |
