ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Dec. 17
By Huseyn Hasanov Trend:
A delegation from Turkmenistan plans to arrive in Pakistan by mid-January 2020 to discuss the conditions of fuel supplies through the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline under construction, Trend reports referring to The News, the Pakistani online newspaper.
Turkmenistan will provide insurance of the volume of gas to go through Afghanistan, according to the report.
Islamabad hopes that in case of gas transit loss because of any subversive activity in Afghanistan, the damage will be paid through insurance cover.
Pakistan’s liabilities will be invoked only when the gas under TAPI pipeline will arrive at Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The Turkmen delegation will also review the gas prices set earlier according to the Gas Sales Purchase Agreement under the TAPI pipeline project. Pakistan now wants changes in formula for gas prices, the report said.
Construction of the Turkmen section of the TAPI gas pipeline was launched in December 2015. The construction of the Afghan section was launched in February 2018. Pakistan plans to begin the operations on TAPI next year.
The buyers are gas companies from Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
The participating countries established the TAPI Pipeline Company Limited consortium, the leader of which was Turkmengaz State Concern. The project is being promoted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which acts as a project transaction advisor.
TAPI's resource base will be Galkynysh field, the second biggest gas field in the world (after South Pars field in Iran).
The total length of the TAPI gas pipeline with a capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year will be approximately 1,840 kilometers. The pipeline will pass through Afghan Herat and Kandahar cities (816 kilometers), through Quetta and Multan cities across Pakistani territory (819 kilometers), and reach Fazilka city in India.