Country intends to reopen a delayed gas pipeline that spans across India!

Turkmenistan has stated that it will push for the completion of the delayed gas pipeline that will run through India. ‘Turkmenistan will continue to undertake new collaborative projects in such crucial areas as energy, transport, and communications, incorporating Afghan enterprises in these projects,’ according to a joint statement made at the end of a regional conference on Afghanistan organised by China.

‘In particular, Turkmenistan will encourage the construction of the transnational gas pipeline Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI), which is an important aspect of trade and economic cooperation and will ensure the development and restoration of Afghanistan’s social and economic infrastructure,’ the statement continued. It comes as Indian President Ram Nath Kovind prepares to travel to Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat, for a four-day visit. The $9.6 billion TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India) pipeline would deliver 33 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year and would originate in Turkmenistan’s massive Galkynysh gas field.

Faced with further delays, TAPI nations have altered strategy in the last two years to attract investment and make progress. The project is now scheduled to be completed in two parts, with the pipeline built without compressors in the initial phase to reduce gas volume while lowering prohibitive project costs. Once the gas starts flowing and the pipeline begins to generate cash flow, money would be secured for the second phase, which would include the installation of 11 compressors along the 1,814 km (1,127 mile) pipeline project.

Due to difficulty in acquiring funding and the security hazards of building a pipeline across war-torn Afghanistan, the project has been delayed for a long time. ‘Pakistan is working on megaprojects like CASA-1000 and TAPI to strengthen energy cooperation with Central Asia via Afghanistan,’ the statement continued. According to the website Hydrocarbons-Technology.com, ‘the TAPI pipeline, also known as the Peace Pipeline and Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, will originate in Turkmenistan and transit Afghanistan to enter Pakistan and India.’