Indian Minister in Turkmenistan to Discuss TAPI Pipeline

Taking a step closer to realising the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline, India's Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday left for Turkmenistan to attend the 19th Steering Committee meeting of TAPI project.

Besides attending the TAPI meeting Pradhan is scheduled to discuss bilateral oil and gas cooperation issues with the Government of Turkmenistan, the government said in a statement.

Gas companies of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India have established a company that will build, own and operate the planned 1,800-kilometer Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline, Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Thursday.

Turkmengas, Afghan Gas Enterprise, Inter State Gas Systems, and GAIL (India) Limited own equal shares of the company.

ADB was appointed the transaction advisor for the TAPI gas pipeline project in November 2013. In that role, ADB advised on the establishment of the TAPI pipeline company as an integral part of the larger goal of identifying and selecting a commercial consortium leader to spearhead the construction and operation of the pipeline.

When selected, the commercial consortium leader will take a substantial stake in the company.

The TAPI pipeline will export up to 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India over 30 years.