Turkmenistan Mulls TAPI Consortium

Turkmenistan's Petroleum Ministry has today said that it is working on setting up a consortium for the TAPI pipeline, following a Steering Committee working meeting in capital city Ashgabat last night.

In a statement on its website, the Ministry said that it was working on the creation of a consortium for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline in light of the touring of the pipeline to companies and countries around Asia, America and Europe. 

"During the meeting, the expert group submitted its report on the business tour, conducted in mid-September major financial centers in Asia, America and Europe - Singapore, New York and London, in order to enhance the flow of information and attract leading international oil and gas companies and financial institutions to the consortium, which will be created for TAPI gas pipeline project," the statement said

The Committee discussed particularly the acceleration of the consortium, including attracting new memberships to the consortium. In addition, the parties discussed the choosing of a leader for the consortium.

The meeting also discussed the results of a Technical Working Party report on the pipeline, the statement said, including the negotiation and resolution of issues relating to the technical aspects of the TAPI pipeline. 

The TAPI pipeline, when constructed, is expected to diversify supply to Asia, bringing gas through the Caspian Sea from Turkmenistan, through Afghanistan and then onto Pakistan and India. When completed, the pipeline is expected to carry around 33 billion cubic metres of gas a year.