Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Dec. 8 / Trend H. Hasanov /
The ninth meeting of a technical working group developing the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project is underway in Ashgabat. Experts from participant states and the Asian Development Bank are participating.
The agenda includes preparing an agreement for the sale of Turkmen gas, an intergovernmental agreement on the implementation of the TAPI project, and issues relating to the feasibility study and project funding.
The package will be submitted for final revision to "the participants of the twelfth meeting of the TAPI Steering Committee" on Dec. 10.
By late 2010, Ashgabat will host a summit of the heads of states of project participant countries. The abovementioned documents will also likely be signed.
"This high-level meeting will be an important step in accelerating the implementation of a vast infrastructure project aimed at strengthening global energy security and designed to make a concrete contribution to the Asia region's sustainable socioeconomic development," the group said in a press release.
The project is running based on signed a framework agreement signed in Ashgabat in September at the level of the top managers of fuel and energy complex of four countries and an additional protocol on natural gas sales.
Ashgabat hopes to include "Southern Yoloten-Osman" in addition to the Dovletabad Field in the project. Its reserves, according to recent data, are estimated at 21 trillion cubic meters of gas, and will serve as the resource base for TAPI.
According to a previously prepared feasibility study, the pipeline's capacity will reach more than 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Recently, it was reported that the final buyers in Southeast Asia, including Pakistan and India, have expressed an interest in acquiring much larger volumes in the long term.