COOPERATION BETWEEN POLAND AND AZERBAIJAN IN THE SARMATIA ENERGY PROJECT

The Eurasian Oil Corridor project, designed to transport oil from the Caspian Sea region to Western and Central Europe via the Odessa-Brody-Płock-Gdańsk oil pipeline and onward to the port of Wilhelmshaven (northwestern Germany), was of great importance at the beginning of the 21st century. TheOdessa-Brody pipeline was planned as an alternative route for transporting Caspian oil to Europe through Ukraine and Poland, bypassing Russian territory. It was intended to supply Polish refineries in Płock and Gdańsk. At various summits, heads of state conducted a comprehensive review of the project, carried out a financial analysis, considered route options, and discussed a promising economic model along with capacity estimates and the potential use of new oil and gas enterprises in Poland and Ukraine. Polish support for the project would have led to the establishment of a major transport artery in Europe, facilitating oil transportation from Asia to Europe and from Scandinavia to Poland and Ukraine. However, one of the key reasons the project's prospects seemed unpromising, in addition to its high investment costs, was both overt and covert resistance from Russia, which supplied its oil to Europe through Soviet-era pipelines. Despite efforts and declarations from multiple countries regarding this new energy project, it failed to produce any tangible results and remained confined to official documents and speeches. This paper evaluates the preparation of the "Sarmatia" pipeline project, its significance for the EU's energy supply, the attitudes of the participating countries, and the reasons for its failure.