Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Aug. 16
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
Allen & Overy, international law firm headquartered in London, will provide legal services for the project of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline construction, the online newspaper of the Turkmen Oil and Gas Complex reported, Aug. 16.
The contract signing was held at the head office of the project company TAPI Pipeline Company Limited in Dubai, UAE.
Cooperation of the sides covers the period up to the stage of making a final investment decision on the TAPI project.
During the contract signing ceremony, Allen & Overy officials noted the significance of measures on the TAPI project implementation and confirmed readiness to provide high-quality legal support for the project, in particular, in issues related to project financing.
Project of the TAPI construction is already being carried out in three countries. A contract was signed in early 2017 with Germany’s ILF Beratende Ingenieure GmbH for the provision of the front-end engineering design services at the gas pipeline’s Afghanistan-Pakistan section.
Along with this, issuance of tender documents for long-lead equipment procurement is being prepared.
“TAPI Pipeline Company Limited shows commitment to building mutually beneficial cooperation with all interested parties, who expressed willingness to participate in the TAPI transnational gas pipeline project,” reads the article.
TAPI will make it possible to deliver gas from Turkmenistan, which ranks fourth in the world for its gas reserves, to large and promising markets of South and Southeast Asia. The pipeline will run from Galkynysh – the largest gas field in Turkmenistan – through the Afghan cities of Herat and Kandahar, and finally reach the Fazilka settlement located near the India-Pakistan border.
Turkmenistan has started constructing its TAPI section in December 2015. Annual capacity of the gas pipeline will reach 33 billion cubic meters. Total length of the TAPI pipeline will be 1,814 kilometers. The project's preliminary cost is estimated at $10 billion.