GAIL India May Pick Up 5% Stake in TAPI Consortium

GAIL India Ltd is expected to pick up 5 percent stake in the consortium that is building the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, Press Trust of India reported Sunday.

The much delayed TAPI gas pipeline project was formally inaugurated on December 13.

The ground breaking ceremony, which was held in Mary in the southeastern part of Turkmenistan, was attended by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani along with Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian Vice President Muhammad Hamid Ansari.

TurkmenGaz will be the leader of the consortium and shall take 85 percent equity. Along with GAIL India, ISGS of Pakistan and Afghan Gas Enterprise (AGE) will also take 5 percent stake each, Press Trust reported.

A government official told Press Trust that Kabul is now willing to take only 1.5-4 mmscmd of gas so the share of India and Pakistan will go up to 43-44.25 mmscmd each.

As per the original deal, India and Pakistan were to get 38 mmscmd each while the remaining 14 mmscmd was to be supplied to Afghanistan.

An inter-government Joint Security Task Force (JSTF) will be raised which will serve as nucleus of the pipeline’s security programme, the official said.