Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept. 23
By Huseyn Hasanov– Trend:
Pakistan is regularly contributing to the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project activities, which made significant progress during the current year, Trend reports with reference to the Pakistani newspaper The Nation.
“The groundbreaking for Pakistan-section of the TAPI pipeline is expected to be held soon,” a senior official privy to the petroleum sector developments told the newspaper.
The official said that Turkmenistan had already completed the construction work on its section, while the Afghanistan also performed groundbreaking of the project last year.
In the recent past, Pakistan signed the Host Government Agreement (HGA) with Turkmenistan and will lay gas pipeline on its section from Chaman to Multan cities via Quetta and Dera Ismail Khan cities, the newspaper said.
Under the project, a 56-inch diameter 1,680 kilometers pipeline, having capacity to flow 3.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) gas, will be laid from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan up to Pakistan-India border by 2020, according to the newspaper.
As per the TAPI agreement, Pakistan and India will be provided 1.325 bcfd gas each and Afghanistan will be getting the share of 0.5 bcfd gas.
Pakistan is actively pursuing the international gas pipeline projects to meet the country’s ever-growing energy needs as its existing hydrocarbon reserves are depleting.
Earlier it was reported that the cost of Turkmen pipeline gas, which will be supplied to Pakistan, will be significantly lower compared to the price of liquefied natural gas imported from other countries.
The Turkmengas State Concern is the leader of the TAPI Pipeline Company Ltd. international consortium. It has a controlling stake and acts as the main financier and manager of the project. The consortium also includes the Afghan Gas Corporation, Pakistan’s Inter State Gas Systems (Private) Limited Company and India’s GAIL Company.
The pipeline’s design capacity will be 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year.