Caspian Voices

July 2022

Welcome to Caspian Voices, Crude Accountability's monthly newsletter for scholars, policy-makers, and civil society members with hard-to-find information from the Caspian and the Black Sea regions from the communities impacted by oil and gas development.

In this newsletter, learn about Crude Accountability's latest advocacy work, read Shell's response to our inquiry about its ongoing involvement in Russia, and check out an exciting report on Muslim civil society organizations from our board member, Sebastien Peyrouse.

Buky Canyon, Ukraine. Picture © Adobe Stock

Kate Watters: Exemptions from Russian Energy Sanctions Undermine Western Efforts to Stop the War

Kate Watters authored a recent article on the significant flaws of sanctions related to the war in Ukraine.

Efforts to stop Putin's war are threatened by Russia's oil and gas revenues - with the Caspian Pipeline Consortium being a particularly problematic source of revenue.

Read: Sanctioning Pipelines and Oligarchs is not a Silver Bullet

Shell's Blunt Response to Crude Accountability's Inquiry

Our last newsletter highlighted the letters we sent to the companies of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium: Chevron, ENI, ExxonMobil, and Shell. In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we hoped to clarify their actions in response to the sanctions against Russian oil and gas corporations.

Read Shell's response about their partnership with Rosneft, a sanctioned entity, here.

Read our letter to Chevron here.

Read our letter to ENI here.

Read our letter to Exxon Mobil here.

Read our letter to Shell here.

Joint letter by civil society organizations to the EITI Board in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Despite their commitments to stop business with Russia, many energy companies continue to process huge volumes of Russian oil under long-term contracts. Crude Accountability joined dozens of civil society organizations in calling for efficient actions to stop funding the war in Ukraine.

Read the letter here.

PEACEWORKS

Sebastien Peyrouse of Crude Accountability's Board of Directors recently co-authored an enlightening report, Engaging with Muslim Civil Society in Central Asia: Components, Approaches, and Opportunities.

The findings are positive: organizations are generally highly diverse and supportive of democracy.

Read it here.

Bankwatch Network Report

New report by our colleagues from CEE Bankwatch Network focuses on the Armenian mining sector that has been tarnished by non-transparent governance, environmental pollution, and unmitigated health risks.

The report looks at the Amulsar gold mine project - financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – as the prime example of lacking resource governance and environmental degradation.

Amulsar: Human Rights Violations and Environmental Negligence in the Search for Gold

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Images in this newsletter are licensed for editorial use via Adobe Stock and Stutterstock

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Crude Accountability website: https://crudeaccountability.org/