Turkmenistan signs Major Gas Deal with India, Pakistan
The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project took a major step forward today with the three nations signing an agreement which will see Turkmenistan provide 33bn cubic metres of gas a year to India and Pakistan for a 30-year period.
Turkmenistan's state gas company Turkmengaz signed gas sales and purchase agreements with Pakistan's Inter State Gas Systems and Indian state-run utility GAIL.
The TAPI pipeline would originate from Turkmenistan’s Galkynysh gas field to reach Fazilka in India’s Punjab province, via the Afghan cities of Herat and Kandahar and Quetta and Multan in Pakistan. The Galkynysh gas field is estimated to hold 16 trillion cubic metres of proven recoverable gas.
The development of long discussed 1,800 km ‘Peace Pipeline’ still faces major security challenges, particularly the 735-km section through the Afghan provinces of Herat and Kandahar,
Related Reading: Afghan Security Dulls Turkmenistan’s Hints at Major Gas Deal