RWE makes a good point re. following the oil. US policy and alliances are a threat to Russian oil markets, with all of their geopolitical consequences.

Here’s a NPR report from 2006:

“April 18, 2006 · The tiny former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan is on the verge of an oil boom. This summer, a 1,000-mile pipeline is expected to begin pumping oil from Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea coast, through neighboring Georgia, to a Turkish port on the Mediterranean Sea.

Industry experts say this pipeline will allow Azerbaijan to eventually quadruple its oil exports, but political opponents in Azerbaijan worry that the oil money will help the government of the former Soviet republic stifle pro-democracy efforts.

The $4 billion project is backed by the United States, in part because it gets Caspian Sea oil wealth out to the international market, without going through Azerbaijan’s much larger neighbors, Russia and Iran.

Azerbaijan already has more than a century of experience with oil and the money that comes with it.