Central Asia emerges as strategic energy player amid oil crisis

2026-03-26 15:52:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The global energy market is facing one of the most severe disruptions in decades, with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz - a vital artery for 20 percent of global maritime trade and a third of the world's liquefied natural gas - as the United States and Israel continue their war with Iran.

Coordinated Israeli airstrikes on key Iranian gas facilities in South Pars and Asalujeh, as well as Iranian retaliatory attacks on energy facilities in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have paralyzed tanker movements and the market response has been dramatic.

Brent crude oil prices rose to $116.38 a barrel on March 19, and natural gas prices in Europe rose sharply, reflecting the shortage of physically accessible energy. The soaring gas prices have forced nitrogen and urea fertilizer plants to cut production just before the planting season, disrupting supplies and putting countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America at risk of crop failures and the possibility of famine.

In light of this market uncertainty, the strategic importance of Kazakhstan's and Turkmenistan's energy reserves has never been greater.

Despite being caught in the middle of the US-Israeli war with Iran to the south, the Russia-Ukraine conflict to the north, and feeling the effects of Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan to the southeast, both countries possess significant reserves that, if used, could ease pressure on world markets.

Turkmen gas: An option for rapid relief through road transport

Turkmenistan possesses about 19.5 trillion cubic meters of proven natural gas reserves, mainly in the Galkinish field, making it the fourth-largest country in the world.

The bulk of exports go to China via the Central Asia–China pipeline (32–33 billion cubic meters per year). Smaller quantities go to the United Arab Emirates and Oman via the Dolphin system, while limited quantities have recently reached Turkey via Iran under swap agreements.

The war involving Iran has halted most regional exports outside of China, leaving Turkmenistan's gas largely confined to existing pipelines. In an interview with Radio Free Europe, John Roberts, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center, explained that Turkmenistan's gas offers a relatively quick supply in the current crisis.

Kazakhstan's oil: infrastructure constraints and long-term opportunities

While Turkmenistan offers a rapid option through land transport, Kazakhstan's oil sector faces long-term structural obstacles that limit immediate relief.

In an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Azattyk Asia, Joseph Epstein, director of the Turan Center for Post-Soviet Studies, highlighted the structural and geopolitical limitations of Kazakhstan's oil sector.

Kazakhstan's oil illustrates the practical limits of converting natural resources into immediate relief for the market./rel