BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 8. The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline is being re-anchored in regional energy discussions as a structured export corridor, the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School wrote, Trend reports.
In its analysis, the Belfer Center notes that TAPI is increasingly viewed as a structured mechanism for regional energy flows linking Turkmenistan’s gas resources with South Asian demand centers.
The project is based on the development of Turkmenistan’s Galkynysh gas field and is designed to transport up to 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually through Afghanistan and Pakistan to India. The center wrote, that this configuration reinforces its role as a key planned export route in Eurasian energy architecture.
According to the analysis, the renewed attention to TAPI reflects broader reassessments of regional connectivity and energy security frameworks, where the pipeline is positioned as a long-term component of diversification strategies for Turkmenistan and supply security for South Asia.
The center further highlights that Pakistan and India, each set to receive 47.5% of the projected gas volumes, remain the principal demand centers in the framework, reinforcing the project’s strategic role in connecting Central Asian supply with South Asian energy markets.
The report also highlights that Afghanistan’s 5% share is linked primarily to its role as a transit state rather than a major consumption market. At the same time, the arrangement is expected to generate transit revenues for Afghanistan, which the analysis links to a potential stabilizing economic effect through greater integration into regional trade and energy flows.
The Galkynysh gas field is expected to remain the primary upstream resource base for the TAPI pipeline, ensuring long-term supply security for the project. In parallel, Turkmenistan and China’s CNPC launched the fourth phase of development at the giant field in April 2026, a project aimed at adding around 10 billion cubic meters of additional annual production capacity. The expansion is seen as part of Turkmenistan’s broader effort to strengthen its gas output potential, which underpins both existing export routes and prospective infrastructure such as TAPI.
In April, representative of Turkmengaz State Concern told reporters, that Turkmenistan plans to construct a gas processing plant with a capacity of 10 billion cubic meters of marketable gas per year as part of the fourth phase of development of the Galkynysh gas field.
He said the project will be implemented in partnership with Chinese partners and will also include the drilling of 30 production wells and the construction of a range of industrial, infrastructure, and social facilities. The total investment is estimated at around $5 billion.
