Kazakhstan, Astana, March 11 / Trend, D. Mukhtarov /
The support of oil and gas companies is required for the implementation of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) project, "KazTransOil" director general Kairgeldy Kabyldin told media today.
"TAPI gas pipeline is a very good project, which will have international resonance," he said. "The support of oil and gas companies is required for its implementation as in the case with the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project," Kabyldin said.
He added that the agreements must be signed between resource holders designed to ensure stability of supply and their security.
He added that gas from Kazakhstan's western regions (in case of its extraction), as well as from Russia by transit may be supplied through the gas pipeline to the fast-growing Indian market.
"In my opinion, there is nothing better than such economically attractive projects that will really help stabilize the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said. "Indeed, a lot of money for gas transit through their territory will be spent for social projects in these countries."
Delhi has proposed making changes to the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. Accordingly, its length will increase and construction will start from Kazakhstan, Indian media reported earlier.
According to the Hindu, the gas pipeline will head from the former Silk Road caravanserai city of Shymkent, known today for oil refining and enter Uzbekistan.
India unveiled the concept of the pipeline which in future could be extended to Russia, during a meeting between External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and his Kazakh counterpart Erlan Idrissov. The two Ministers will revisit the idea in the coming months.
The basic document for the promotion of the TAPI project is the Ashgabat interstate agreement of the state parties on the commencement of the practical implementation of the TAPI project signed in late 2010.
The Turkmen government has recently reported that Ashgabat is preparing to hold a regular meeting of the TAPI technical working group soon. The agenda includes the organisational, legal and technical issues for the formation of a specialised company.
Experts stressed that the situation in Afghanistan is a major obstacle for the TAPI implementation.
The agreements on the purchase and sale of Turkmen gas were signed with India's GAIL ltd and State Gas Systems of Pakistan.
Negotiations on formation of consortium and financial package are being held.
According to the Turkmen variant, the design capacity of the TAPI may reach up to 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. It is expected that the pipeline will extend from the largest gas field in Turkmenistan 'Galkhynysh' through the Afghan cities of Herat and Kandagar to the Fazilka settlement on the Pakistani-Indian border.
