India Envisions Asia Gas Grid

India is keen to build a 15,000-km gas grid across Asia that will connect major producers and consumers, Business Standard reported citing government officials.

The oil minister has already backed the proposal to revive prospects of India importing gas from Iran and to extend the proposed pipeline from Turkmenistan, the newspaper said.

According to Business Standard, the proposed grid could be an extension of the $7.6-billion TAPI pipeline, which has made significant progress as most of the crucial inter-governmental agreements have been signed.

India is also interested in importing gas from neighbour on the eastern front, Myanmar.

It plans to revive a 16-year-old proposal for a 900-km pipeline covering Myanmar, Bangladesh and India, after renewed interest in the project by the two neighbours, officials told Business Standard.

"The external affairs minister also had a very positive meeting with Myanmar in June about laying the pipeline project that will accelerate economic development of the Northeast," an official said.

Bangladesh, which initially resisted the transnational pipeline project for political reasons, informally expressed its interest in joining the 1,735-km TAPI pipeline.

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