Infrastructure: Gorgas

While the region’s five countries have a significant number of rural residents, the majority of each country’s population lives in urban areas. About two-thirds of the Arianian (68%), Donovian (67%), and Limarian populace (64%) and just over half of the Gorgan (53%) and Atropian (52%) populace live in urban areas. All five countries contain a mixture of modern urban cities and almost pre- modern rural villages. Modern utilities can be found in most major cities but not in the rural villages and countryside.

Gorgas contains few natural resources and little industry and needs to find its role in the Caucasus region. This is true for Gorgan infrastructure, as the country possesses a negative urbanization rate of 0.6%. In order for some urban Gorgans to avoid starvation, they returned to their rural roots

where they can attempt to survive through subsistence farming. Most rural Gorgans cannot access modern utilities (electricity, potable running water, and a modern sewage disposal system), and the same holds true for many urban Gorgans. Even with one-third of the Gorgan people located in one city, Gorgas remains almost evenly split between urban and rural dwellers.

Construction Patterns

As previously mentioned, the majority of residents in all five countries live in urban areas. Most urban cities contain a mixture of old neighborhoods with roughshod construction, while buildings in newer neighborhoods are made with modern construction methods. In rural villages and areas, residents use whatever materials they can obtain to build their houses.

File:Block-Style Apartment Building.PNG

Block-Style Apartment Building

Gorgas’ largest cities contain four distinct types of neighborhoods based on the time of their construction. The oldest parts of the cities contain the dense random construction as the city grew from a village to a metropolitan area. The second area consists of extra-large rectangular block apartment buildings in closed orderly block construction that suffer from a lack of maintenance. The third area consists of neighborhoods that use more Western-style construction methods. In those cities that possess significant industrialization, houses built to support a factory exist to create a strip area neighborhood. For the most part, Gorgas does not possess the financial capacity to maintain its infrastructure, either private or public.

Tbilisi remains the only Gorgan city with enough   people  where   military   operations would likely require a significant amount of urban operations. No other city possesses a population of over 200,000 people. Even in these smaller cities, however, military personnel will face dense random construction in the inner cities with narrow alleys and buildings built close to each other. Except for Tbilisi, the lack of an urban population may create manpower shortages for any host nation support requests.

Major Gorgan Cities and Urban Zones

While the majority of Gorgas’ citizens live in urban areas, 47% of its citizens live in rural areas. One- third of Gorgas’ 4.5 million inhabitants live in its capital city, Tbilisi. In fact, no other Gorgan city possesses a population with over 200,000 inhabitants. The lack of any major cities other than Tbilisi could make the distribution of information to citizens difficult, but will also deter any insurgents’ ability to unite their supporters.

Tbilisi

Tbilisi, Gorgas’ capital and largest city at around 1.5 million metropolitan area residents, grew on both sides of the Kura River due to its strategic location on the trade routes between Europe and Asia. It lies over 200 miles east of the Black Sea, surrounded by mountains on three sides. The mountain ridges that extend down from the Trialeti Range of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains to the city mean Tbilisi contains both densely populated low-rise residential neighborhoods and largely uninhabited tracts of land on the south side of the Kura River. This difficult terrain forced Tbilisi to build on the north side of the Kura River to the east and northeast. The oldest city neighborhoods contain buildings that feature Middle Eastern-influenced dense random construction, forming city core and core periphery urban zones. Tbilisi contains the country’s largest industrial area and possesses several thriving commercial areas. The city operates a subway system with two lines, 22 stations, and 186 cars. The Gorgan military places several of its key military units in bases in the Tbilisi metropolitan area.

Kutaisi

Kutaisi, Gorgas’ second-largest city at just under 200,000 people, lies about 138 miles west of Tbilisi and 60 miles east of the Black Sea along both banks of the Rioni River. Due to the physical constraints of the Greater Caucasus Mountains to the north, Kutaisi grew primarily toward the southeast to its current population of 199,780 residents. The city features a large number of parks and abundant greenery attributable to its physical location, climate, and spring snowmelt. Kutaisi contains both city core and core periphery urban zones. While some high-rise residential areas exist, most residents live in low-rise residential urban zones. The city contains the normal number of commercial areas for a city its size, but not many industrial areas.

Military activities in the Kutaisi area will find a dichotomy of urban and rural military operations at the same time. The random construction, while not as dense as many other old cities, will require significant numbers of soldiers to clear. Due to the large number of farms on Kutaisi’s outskirts, military operations should not significantly damage the food transportation network.

Batumi

Batumi, with a population of over 120,000 residents, is Gorgas’ third-largest city and most important Black Sea port. The city also serves as the last stop of the Transcaucasian Railway. Batumi once served as a kerosene pipeline terminus from Baku, Atropia, but became obsolete once the new Caspian & Black Seas petroleum (CBS-P) pipeline began operation in the mid-1990s. Still, for its size, Batumi contains a large industrial area as the city serves as Gorgas’ primary port for oil exports. Batumi’s other industries include shipbuilding, food processing, and light manufacturing. While the city does not demonstrate the dense random construction of other old cities, it does not resemble planned orderly square blocks either. More people live in low-rise residential areas than high-rise areas.

Any military operations in the local area will need to ensure that the Batumi port continues its operations so Gorgas can export hydrocarbon products to the Western world and import needed supplies from the rest of the world. Military operations in Batumi will not require much urban operations, and the port should provide a logistics hub for any military operations in Gorgas.

Rustavi

Rustavi, Gorgas’ fourth-largest city at under 120,000 people, lies only 15 miles southeast of Tbilisi along the Kura River. Founded before the 4th century BC on a primary trade route, invaders completely destroyed the city in 1265. Primary industries include iron, steel, chemicals, cement, and synthetic fibers. Over 25% of the population in the mid-1990s left the Rustavi area to find work elsewhere. Still, the city currently contains 90 large- and medium-size industrial plants. While Rustavi lacks the normal city core found in most Gorgan cities, it does possess a core periphery  urban zone. Most Rustavis live in high-rise residential areas, with some low-rise residential areas on the city’s edges. While commercial areas exist, the exodus of the population created a large number  of vacant buildings.

Any military operations in the Rustavi area will likely encounter high levels of pollution. Military units will need to test any water sources before use. The city does not contain much dense random construction. The old rectangular box-style apartment buildings, however, may require room-by- room clearance in any urban operation. Any military activities in the Rustavi area may find a  limited amount of manpower and supplies from the host nation, so the military should plan on providing all its own logistics support.

Zugdidi

Zugdidi, with a population of just over 75,000 people, is Gorgas’ fifth-largest city. Due to its nearness to one of Gorgas’ breakaway territories, Zugdidi has doubled its population with the influx  of refugees since the mid-1990s. Most construction consists primarily of random construction but not as dense as most center cities. In the 1993 Gorgan Civil War, Zugdidi changed hands several times in the fighting between the two sides. Zugdidi contains a dense city core urban zone with the adjacent core periphery. Most citizens live in low-rise residential urban zones. Few industrial areas exist due to its relatively small size, but commercial areas thrive to support the recent growth in population.

Any military activity in the Zugdidi area may cause additional internally displaced persons (IDPs) as the people may fear possible extermination from the other side as in previous recent wars. Due to the city’s small size, the military should not expect either manpower or supplies from the local area so all logistical support will likely remain organic to the military unit. Military units should expect that the local civilians will want protection from the other side as local combatants may use any excuse to obtain vengeance for past wars. As a result of the dense random construction of much of Zugdidi, military operations could face extensive urban operations in the local area.

Population Density

• Tbilisi: 1,588 people per square mile
• Kutaisi: 7,124 people per square mile
• Batumi: 6,027 people per square mile
• Rustavi: 5,258 people per square mile
• Zugdidi: 3,999 people per square mile

Utilities Present

The Caucasus area faces a dichotomy when it comes to utilities such as electricity, water, and  sewage treatment. Most urban households can access modern utilities, but rural areas cannot. Many rural residents who cannot access modern utilities live similarly to their ancestors generations ago.

Power

Another dichotomy in the Caucasus region is that countries like Ariana, Atropia, and Donovia export hydrocarbons, coal, or electrical power to other countries, while Gorgas and Limaria must import the same resources to meet their requirements. The countries that can export hydrocarbon products or electricity become richer while those that must import significant quantities of power become poorer. At least 75% of all structures in the five countries can access power because they are located in  urban areas.

Gorgas contains very little hydrocarbon resources, small coal deposits, and limited electrical generation capacity. What electricity Gorgas produces comes from a limited number of very small hydroelectric plants. Gorgas increased its natural gas and coal imports between 2005 and  the present to offset its reduced ability to purchase crude oil. Over the last decade, Gorgas barely managed to obtain enough power to keep its people from freezing in the winter months. Overall, at least 75% of the people in Gorgas can access a modern power system.

Gorgas’ lack of hydrocarbon resources forces it to purchase oil and gas from other countries. Unless Gorgas finds a way to produce more electricity through hydropower, the country will always need to rely on other countries for its energy resources.

Water

The majority of the Caucasus region’s urban population has access to potable water. As areas become more rural, people must rely on local sources—rivers, streams, and wells—to obtain water for cooking, drinking, and washing.

Most residents in Gorgas’ four largest cities—Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, and Rustavi—can access potable water. Except for Kutaisi, where 96% of the people receive their water from wells, all residents in the other three cities receive drinking water through a modern system. Only 31% of Zugdidi residents, however, can access potable water through a Western-style system. Most rural residents do not have access to a modern water system and still obtain their water through rivers, streams, and wells that remain susceptible to contamination. Since most people live in Tbilisi or one of the other larger cities, at least 75% of the Gorgan people can access a modern water system.

Sewage

The vast majority of Ariana, Atropia, Donovia, and Gorgas urban residents use modern sewage disposal methods to get rid of waste, but most Limarians do not. Urban residents have greater access to modern sewage treatment than rural residents. The more remote a person, the less likely he/she will use modern sewage treatment techniques. Poor disposal methods in rural areas contaminate ground water that other residents rely on for drinking and cooking.

Overall, only 45% of Gorgas’ cities and towns possess a functional modern sewage system. In Gorgas’ four largest cities, at least 75% of all residents can access a modern sewage disposal system. This ranges from a high of 97% in Tbilisi to a low of 74% in Rustavi, with Kutaisi and Batumi in the 80% range. Gorgas’ fifth largest city, Zugdidi, remains an outlier as only 8% of its residents can access a modern sewage system. The majority of Gorgan rural residents cannot access a modern sewage system either, but the overall access rate for Gorgan people is 75%.

Transportation Architecture

Roads are the primary transportation method throughout the Caucasus region. Train and especially air travel remain too expensive for many residents of Ariana, Atropia, Gorgas, and Limaria. Most roads, especially the unpaved ones, suffer from a lack of maintenance. Ariana and Donovia maintain a complex transportation architectural system while the other three countries operate a moderate one due to railway system limitations.

Road Systems

Overall, roads in this part of the world do not meet US or Western Europe standards. Driving is hazardous, especially in the winter months or in bad weather. Generally, drivers do not obey all traffic laws, and vehicle owners often fail to maintain their vehicles properly.

Gorgas' Major Roads

Gorgas contains approximately 14,134 miles of road. About 39% or 5,460 miles of paved roads exist throughout the country. From Tbilisi, four main highways spoke off in the four cardinal directions— north, south, east, and west—to Donovia, Limaria, Atropia, and the Black Sea. Gorgas labels its three best highways M1, M2, and M3. Highway M1 (M27) goes west from Tbilisi to Kutaisi and then to Senaki, where it turns north to the Gorgan border. Highway M2 (A305) parallels the coastline  from the Kalarian border through Hopa, Batumi, and Poti, all Black Sea ports, before it turns northeast to Senaki. M3 starts in Tbilisi and goes almost due north into Donovia. Most rural Gorgan roads do not receive proper maintenance, and rain further deteriorates the road system.

Bus

All five countries maintain some sort of bus system, but its quality depends on the country and location. The larger the city, the more likely it will operate a public bus system. Usually, intercity buses run between the larger cities, and “private” buses may also operate in some areas. Due to the relatively cheap cost of public transportation, buses remain a favorite method for local civilians to travel long distances within their country.

Both official and unofficial buses operate in Gorgas. Intercity bus service operates between Tbilisi and other larger Gorgan cities such as Batumi and Kutaisi. Buses also operate on routes from Tbilisi to cities in Kalaria and Atropia. Currently, no buses operate between Tbilisi and Donovia.

Rail

All five Caucasus countries operate a railroad system, but they suffer many problems due to maintenance issues, non-standard equipment, criminal activity, and high cost.

Gorgas contains 1,002 miles of railway track throughout the country that link it with Donovia, Atropia, and Limaria. The Gorgan railroad suffers from poor maintenance, criminal activity, and fuel shortages that make it unreliable.

Tbilisi operates a subway system that covers just over 16 miles in the Gorgan capital city. Twenty below-ground and two above-ground stations service over 105 million passengers annually. The Tbilisi subway operates between 0600 and 2400 daily.

Gorgas' Major Railroads and Ports

Air Transportation Systems

All five countries maintain both paved and unpaved runways of varying distances. Many of the unpaved runways resemble nothing more than a cleared dirt path only suitable for the sturdiest of planes.

Gorgas contains 18 paved and 4 unpaved runways for a total of 22 runways in the entire country. All unpaved runways in Gorgas do not exceed 5,000 feet. The map on the following page indicates the location of the major Gorgan runways, and the chart provides the data on each runway (not all runways shown on map or chart).

Paved Runways

• Over 10,000 feet: 1
• 8,000 to 10,000 feet: 7
• 5,000 to 8,000 feet: 4
• 3,000 to 5,000 feet: 4
• Under 3,000 feet: 2

Unpaved Runways

• Over 10,000 feet: 0
• 8,000 to 10,000 feet: 0
• 5,000 to 8,000 feet: 0
• 3,000 to 5,000 feet: 2
• Under 3,000 feet: 2

Major Runways

Gorgas' Major Runways (Not All Shown)

Map #	Elevation (Feet)	Latitude (D, M, S)	Longitude (D, M, S)	Length (Feet)	Width (Feet)	Surface Type
201	1079	41 07 22.01N	45 25 21.80 E	7098	115	Asphalt
202	935	40 24 24.00 N	50 12 01.00 E	3966	120	Asphalt
203	40	41 45 12.22 N	46 21 19.04 E	8670	UNK	UNK
204-1	10	40 28 03.00 N	50 02 48.00 E	8858	197	Asphalt
204-2	10	40 28 03.00 N	50 02 48.00 E	10499	149	Concrete
205	1099	40 53 15.44 N	45 57 25.25 E	8182	135	Concrete
206	1083	40 44 06.00 N	46 19 06.00 E	8202	144	Concrete
207	30	38 44 46.70 N	48 49 04.61 E	5172	148	Asphalt
208	UNK	40 07 46.00 N	49 27 16.00 E	7619	UNK	PEM
209	UNK	40 02 12.00 N	48 54 26.00 E	6559	UNK	Concrete
210	2001	39 54 03.62 N	46 47 11.65 E	7304	120	Asphalt
211	-1	40 35 29.69 N	49 33 26.78 E	8218	132	Concrete
212	UNK	40 48 30.00 N	49 25 55.00 E	8199	UNK	Concrete
213	-3	40 16 24.92 N	48 09 48.84 E	8200	130	Concrete
214	UNK	40 44 36.00 N	46 51 26.00 E	7539	UNK	Asphalt
215	UNK	40 37 57.00 N	47 08 28.00 E	UNK	UNK	UNK
216	15	42 06 38.24 N	49 43 45.84 E	10055	150	Concrete
217-1	-5	39 22 05.80 N	49 16 00.53	8001	200	Concrete
217-2	-5	39 22 05.80 N	49 16 00.53	8002	200	Concrete
217-3	-5	39 22 05.80 N	49 16 00.53	7137	200	Concrete

Airports/Airlines

Atropia Airlines serves the country as its national airline carrier. Atropia Airlines flies internationally to 19 different cities in 14 European and Asian countries. International destinations include Belarus (Minsk), China (Urumqi, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region), England (London), France (Paris), Gorgas (Tbilisi), Ariana (Tehran), Israel (Tel-Aviv), Italy (Milan), Kazakhstan (Aktau), Donovia (Astrakhan, Rostov, and Moscow), Syria (Aleppo), Kalaria (Ankara, Antalya, Istanbul, and Trabzon), United Arab Emirates (Dubai), and Ukraine (Kiev). Two international airports operate in Atropia at Baku and Ganja. Atropia possesses enough airports with sufficient runways to support most military operations in the area.

Ports/Sea/River Transportation Systems

The five Caucasus countries share a diverse maritime culture. Ariana has a significant coastline and a large oceangoing fleet to export its oil. Atropia maintains ports on the Caspian Sea. Gorgas has three ports on the Black Sea that are accessible through the Bosporus Strait. Limaria is completely landlocked, with no direct access to any ocean or sea. Due to its location, Donovia has several seaports on the Black and Caspian Seas.

The Baku International Sea Port (BISP) serves as the largest and most important port on the Caspian Sea. Between April and November each year, ships can load and unload their cargo at the BISP from any destination in the world by the use of Donovian waterways, as they are ice-free in those months. The BISP contains terminals for cargo, oil, passengers, and ferries. It can handle up to 15 million tons of liquid products and 10 million tons of dry products annually. A fleet of 20 ships composed of tugs, skimmers, pilot boats, fireboats, and crane ships provide support to the BISP. Atropia ranks 52nd in the world’s merchant marine fleet rankings. The Atropian fleet includes 26 cargo ships, 2 passenger, 9 passenger/cargo, 46 petroleum, 3 specialized tankers, and 3 Roll On-Roll Off (RO-RO) ships.

The BISP main cargo terminal can simultaneously accommodate six ships of 2,841 feet in length that reach an underwater depth at the pier of 22 feet. The quays include one pier available for RO- RO ships. Sixteen cranes can offload cargo that weighs from 5-40 tons, and available forklifts can lift anything from 10-105 tons. Stevedores can simultaneously offload three ships daily and transfer the cargo to up to 100 semi-trucks and 150 railroad cars through the use of four diesel locomotives. Shippers can use 258,334 square feet of open storage space and 107,639 square feet of warehouse space for temporary storage. The main cargo terminal can currently handle up to 15,000 40-foot equivalent units (FEUs) annually, with up to 17,222 square feet of temporary storage space for shippers. FEU forklifts can handle any weight up to 42 tons, and the area links directly to the main railway line.

The BISP oil terminal can simultaneously handle up to four oil tankers that can carry 5,000 to 13,000 tons of oil at a time at two piers, with the ability to process up to 15 million tons per year. Atropia also operates another oil harbor 25 miles from Baku on the Tramaz Peninsula. This terminal can berth eight tankers simultaneously, with four quays that accommodate two tankers each.

The Baku ferry and passenger terminals provide service for the local transfer of cargo and people around the Caspian Sea area between the ports at Baku, Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan), Aktau (Khazakstan), and several Arianian ports. The ferry terminal possesses the capacity to move eight million tons of cargo annually, and on each trip the ferry can accommodate 40 semi-trailers (28 wagons), 50 cars, and 202 passengers.

Smaller boats can navigate the last 310 miles of the Kura River within Atropia before the Kura River reaches the Caspian Sea. Another eight large non-navigable rivers originate in the Caucasus Mountains and drain Atropia’s central lowlands basin.

Winter freezes waterways into the Caspian Sea from the north and restricts the use of the BISP for military operations in the months from November through April. In the open months, ships must receive safe passage through Donovia to use the northern waterways by which small ships can navigate all the way to the North Sea. If the Caspian Sea route remains available for military use, the BISP possesses enough piers, equipment, and storage space to conduct military operations. The Atropian seaports, however, remain open year-round for intra-Caspian Sea transportation of goods and personnel.

Pipelines

The security of hydrocarbon pipelines will be paramount in any military operations in the Caucasus region. Any disruption to the flow of crude oil and natural gas to the Western world could cause economic problems, as many modern countries rely on hydrocarbons to fuel their industries.

Atropia operates three major oil pipelines and one natural gas pipeline within the country. Any disruption to the flow of oil from the Caspian Sea fields will affect Western Europe and many American allies. British Petroleum operates the Trans-Caucasus petroleum (TC-P) pipeline that moves oil from the Caspian Sea fields to tankers in the Mediterranean Sea. The pipeline stretches 1,110 miles from Baku through Gorgas to Kalaria. While not the shortest or quickest route from Baku, the chosen route avoids the turmoil and possible interruptions due to potential conflicts in Limaria, and does not allow Donovia to control the world’s access to the Caspian Sea’s hydrocarbon resources. The pipeline also provides another outlet for the oil-rich Middle East besides tankers that must travel through the Persian Gulf chokepoint at the Strait of Hormuz. The older North Caucasus petroleum (NC-P) pipeline runs about 830 miles from Baku to Novorossiysk, Donovia, and last year moved approximately 29,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) to Donovia’s Black Sea port. Over the last decade, this pipeline increased its throughput from 12,000 bbl/d but, because of the TC-P pipeline, continues to operate at only one-third capacity.

The third major pipeline is the Caspian & Black Seas petroleum (CBS-P) pipeline, which also begins at Baku and runs over 516 miles to the Black Sea port at Supsa, Gorgas. Atropia closed this pipeline for repairs from October 2006 until August 2008 and did not reopen it until November 2008 because of possible damage from the Gorgan-Donovian conflict. In 2008, it averaged only 13,000 bbl/d. However, as of last year, an average of 55,000 bbl/d passed through its pipes.

The natural gas pipeline in Atropia and Gorgas is the Trans-Caucasus natural gas (TC-G) pipeline, which follows the same paths as the TC-P pipeline. Four new pipelines are under construction in Atropia, all built to avoid crossing Donovia and its ever-increasing “transit fees.” European consortiums are building two of these to access the fields in Central Asia. These new oil and gas pipelines will originate in Central Asia, cross the Caspian Sea, and then follow the TC-P and TC-G pipelines through Atropia, Gorgas, and Kalaria en route to European markets. Referred to as the Trans-Caucasus 2 petroleum (TC2-P) and natural gas (TC2-G) pipelines, they will double the capacity of the current pipelines. Two more pipelines, known as the Northeast Atropian petroleum (NEA-P) and natural gas (NEA-G) pipelines, are to carry hydrocarbons from newly-discovered fields in northeast Atropia. These will eventually span from the hydrocarbon boom town of Rimzi on the Caspian Sea to the TC-P and TC-G pipelines.

Telecommunications Architecture

For the most part, Caucasus-region residents use cellular telephones to communicate with each other due to the lack of landline telephone infrastructure. Many residents never owned any type of telephone until they received their first cellular phone. Most can access news from either television or radio, but some rural residents have no information access via modern methods.

In Atropia, most citizens can access a telephone and listen to a television or radio broadcast, but Internet access remains quite limited. Despite the rapid growth of the Atropian telecommunications infrastructure over the last decade, much of the equipment needs replacement or modernization. The Atropian telephone system remains generally inadequate, with only 18 main telephone lines per 100 citizens. The Atropian government owns and operates a telecommunications monopoly within the country. Many Atropian cable and microwave systems predate 1989 and now show signs of their age. Atropians operate 1.5 million landlines and 6.4 million cellular telephones. Ten FM, 11 AM, and one shortwave radio station function within Atropia, and there are 10 television stations in operation. Atropia connects internationally through the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic link. A total of 1,274,610 Atropians use the Internet regularly, but 1.45 million Atropians, or 17% of the population, can access the Internet. The military will be able to communicate with the vast majority of Atropia’s populace as they can receive information from the radio, TV, or the Internet.

Agriculture

Agriculture production still dominates the labor forces of Gorgas (55.6%) and Limaria (46.2%), but not Ariana (25%), Atropia (38.3%), or Donovia (20%). Even in the Caucasus region’s predominately agricultural countries, farming creates less than one-fourth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Except for Atropia, the region relies on food imports to feed its people. Any food import disruption may increase the military’s burden to feed civilians and prevent starvation.

Nearly 40% of all Atropians engage in agricultural pursuits, but it creates less than 6% of the country’s GDP. Almost all Atropian farmers (99.98%) work on small private farms that average approximately five acres. Atropians cultivate approximately 23% of their land, but they irrigate 74% of the land they farm. Almost 25,000 miles of canals and water pipelines satisfy the needed water requirements.

Five crops constitute 80% of all Atropian agricultural production: grapes, cotton, tobacco, citrus fruits, and vegetables. The first three represent over 50% of annual crops while the latter two make up the remainder. The Atropian climate, however, remains diverse enough to produce peaches, almonds, and rice. Other major Atropian crops include apples, olives, persimmons, raspberries, strawberries, currants, plums, pears, pomegranates, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, beets, cabbage, cucumbers, onions, wheat, maize, and barley.

Industry

Because of their hydrocarbon resources, Ariana, Atropia, and Donovia are more industrialized than Gorgas and Limaria. Industry GDP ranges from a low of 27.1% in Gorgas to a high of 61.4% in Atropia. The protection of the Atropian hydrocarbon infrastructure remains paramount for any military operations in the area, and the military should refrain from unnecessary damage to the industrial sector to facilitate economic recovery after the end of hostilities. The Atropian government spends most of its revenue to ensure the modernization of its hydrocarbon resources while it neglects maintenance of much of the rest of its infrastructure. Atropia produces a large amount of toxic industrial chemicals for multiple purposes, including hydrocarbon production activities, water purification, wastewater management, and fertilizer to increase agricultural output.

Oil

For over 100 years, Atropia’s oil industry has served as the engine that runs the country’s economy and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The irony remains, however, that the oil industry is still largely responsible for Atropia’s previous pollution problems and practices left over from the pre-1991 era, and continues to generate additional pollution problems today.

Between 1997 and last year, Atropia quadrupled its oil production to rise from the world’s 35th largest crude oil producer to the 23rd largest. Very recently discovered oil reserves in northeast Atropia will continue to make the country an even more important player in the world marketplace. The Atropian National Oil Company (ANOC) operates two national refineries, manages the pipeline system, and handles all oil export and import duties.

Atropia’s abundant but hard-to-reach oil reserves attract foreign investors because of the world’s dependency on fossil fuels and China’s increased energy demands. In 1996, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provided $5 million to set up a $40 million revolving loan base to finance the rehabilitation of old onshore Atropian oil fields. These funds initiated tertiary extraction methods to recover additional oil from 720 wells in the Mugan 1 field and 190 wells in the Mugan 2 field. Both sites are located approximately 50 miles southwest of Baku in desert or semi- desert climates. The loans also provided funds to improve current oil/water separation equipment and storage tanks; drill additional wells; and establish a remediation program to clean up abandoned oil infrastructure such as pipelines, tanks, and reserve pits on both oil fields.

Gas

In 2006, because of the Pasha Sarak natural gas field’s production levels, Atropia changed from a net natural gas importer to a natural gas exporter. The EBRD led a bank syndicate that provided $110 million to complete the first stage of a $277.7 million project to tap the Pasha Sarak natural gas fields. Atropia produced five billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2004 but last year increased its production to over 16 billion cubic meters—an increase of 323%. Production continues at the latest level cited above. Beginning in 2004, Atropia has climbed steadily from 47th in the world to their current position as the 32nd largest natural gas producer in the world.

Due to Atropia’s large reserves of 849 billion cubic feet (current estimate), other countries such as Donovia want to gain additional access to the Caspian Sea area’s natural gas fields. Additional gas fields discovered in hydrocarbon-rich northeast Atropia will only extend the length of time that the country can continue to export natural gas to the Western world. Increased energy requirements expected in the future will make other foreign countries’ access to Atropia’s natural gas even more important. About two years ago, Atropia began the daily shipment of 1.5 million cubic meters of natural gas to Donovia. This initiated fulfillment of a previous contract signed by the two countries for Atropia to provide 500 million cubic meters of natural gas annually to Donovia. Later, the two countries agreed to double the amount to 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually.

Pollution

All five Caucasus-region countries face significant pollution problems stemming from poor industrial practices. The governments cared more about natural resource extraction and product production than the stewardship of the planet. This lack of concern for the environment occurred regardless of which government was in power. The region’s military operations will need to address pollution, with soldiers taking precautions due to high-level air pollution and units considering any local water source not potable until tested.

Atropia faces a wide variety of pollution issues to include factory air pollution, ground water contamination, inadequate waste management, and genetic mutation. Much of the pollution remains from the 1950s to the 1970s when leaders cared more about product creation in the oil and chemical fields than the protection of the environment. About five years ago, Scientific American named Sumgayit, Atropia, as one of the top 10 most polluted locations in the world. Despite increased awareness of pollution since the early 1990s, many factories continue to operate inefficiently and in an environmentally unfriendly manner just as the factories did in the past. The pollution has caused Caspian Sea caviar and fish yields to decline and continues to cause birth defects in Atropian babies.

Summary

Due to Atropia’s rise to in ranking as a world hydrocarbon exporter, much wealth continues to flow into the country. The Atropian government continues to pump much of the increased revenues back into either the extraction of oil and gas in the Caspian Sea fields or the transportation of hydrocarbon products out of the country. Atropia should continue to increase its infrastructure for the next generation due to its hydrocarbon resources, but it may come at an expense to its environment due to increased pollution.