Caspian Sea: State of the Environment 2019

Iran, Statistical Centre of Iran 2016; Kazakhstan, Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan Statistics Committee 2009–2018, Turkmenstat 2018). In Azerbaijan, oil, gas and oil-refining products accounted for 89 per cent of total exports in 2017. In Iran, fuels and mining products accounted for 44.7 per cent of total exports in 2015, while in Kazakhstan, they accounted for 75.1 per cent of the country’s exports (World Trade Organization [WTO] 2016). Hydrocarbons accounted for 60 per cent of exports from Turkmenistan in 2014 (Turkmenstat 2018). The biggest oil production sites in Azerbaijan are the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) and Shah Deniz complexes, the latter of which is one of the biggest gas condensate fields in the world that will soon increase its outputs to the Turkish market. A further structure, the Shaf- ag-Asiman complex, is in the exploration plan- ning process, which is supported by a production sharing agreement between BP and the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SO- CAR) (BP Azerbaijan n.d.)

Due to the peculiarities of production develop- ment and the territory’s natural and climatic con- ditions, agriculture has a secondary role in the Balkan Region. The main type of agricultural ac- tivity is animal husbandry, with the region plac- ing fifth in the country in terms of the volume of animal products produced (DN Tours n.d.). 3.2. Direct drivers (sectors) Each of the Caspian littoral states’ economies largely depend on the oil and gas industry. All countries in the Caspian region are currently involved in oil and/or gas exploration and pro- duction in the sea. A drastic drop in oil prices in 2014 left countries facing economic issues, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts annual GDP growth in all coastal states over the next few years. Over the past decade, oil and gas rents 1 as a percentage of GDP have declined on average in all Caspian littoral states. However, the oil and gas industry still has a very important role in all the countries, as it makes significant contri- butions to their total exports (Azerbaijan 2018; 3.2.1. Oil and gas

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