This document summarizes the proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline project. Key points: - TAPI would transport natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan to India. It would be 1,680 km long with an initial capacity of 27 billion cubic meters per year. - The project aims to benefit all countries by providing energy and transit revenues. However, political instability and security challenges in Afghanistan pose major risks to the project's implementation. - While first proposed in the 1990s, construction has yet to begin due to the difficult security situation across the proposed pipeline route and complex India-Pakistan relations. The future of TAPI remains

1. TAPI
Turkmenistan, Afghanistan,
Pakistan and India Pipeline
By: Roya Saqib, Year 2011.
Class: Political Economy of South Asia. MA in IR, JNU.

2. TAPI Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India
Pipeline

3. Introduction
• South Asian countries’ Cooperation in energy area is crucial in
furthering the cooperation and bringing about peace in the
region among the concerned counties, since this area, due to
the serious need for the energy of the SAs leading countries
(India and Pakistan), has the potential to pave the way for a
compromise and a balanced bargain, it is hoped that a peace
could be achieved if the challenges are tackled and the trade is
started. This presentation is highlighting such a planned
cooperation under the TAPI pipeline project.

4. Focus points on TAPI
 Pipeline merit over LNG
 Background
 Technical Features
 The Significance―A win-win for all
 TAPI implementation challenges
 conclusion

5. Advantage of Pipeline over LNG trade
gas transport by pipeline is considered
economic in relation to gas transport as
LNG up to distance
pipeline option confers greater supply
security to the importer, since it is not
easy for the exporter to shift the pipeline
to some other country, which would offers
a better price.

6. Background TAP-TAPI
• Long time at stake (since 1990s)
• 2 Consortium BRIDAS and UNOCAL
• US support for UNOCAL, 1997 negotiation with Taliban
• In 2001 negotiation broke down , and
• Afghan new government negotiation started again
• 2003 ADB started the technical studies assistance
• India was proposed to participate- TAP to TAPI
• 2008 all participants signed
• Supposed to start supply of gas by 2015
• But pipeline construction has not started yet

7.  Dauletabad gas field in Turkmenistan along the highway
through Herat, Helmand and Kandahar in Afghanistan, to
Quetta and Multan in Pakistan, and on to Fazilka in India.
 1,680 km pipeline
 1,420 millimeters (56 in) in diameter
 working pressure of 100 standard atmospheres.
 The initial capacity will be 27 billion cubic meters (bcm) of
natural gas per year. 2 bcm to Afghanistan and 12.5 bcm to
each Pakistan and India.
 Later the capacity will increase to 33 bcm. Less than 5 bcm
Afghanistan and 14 each for India and Pakistan
 Initially estimate of cost US $3.3 bn. Now increased to US
$7.6 billion
 The project is to be financed by the Asian Development
Bank
TAPITechnicalFeatures

8. The Significance―A win-win for all
For Turkmenistan:
Rich in natural gas
reserves
Far from world oceans
Wants access to
market to export its gas
TAPI-A Revenue source
and diversification of
its export roots
According to a
Statistical Review 2009,
Turkmenistan has the
world’s fourth largest
reserves of natural gas,
7.94 trillion cubic
meters (TCM),
exceeded only by
Russia, Iran and Qatar.

9. Significance cont.…….
Afghanista
n is an
important
bridge
between
South and
Central
Asia.
For Afghanistan :
TAPI could mean around
five billion cubic meters of
gas for internal needs
 $300 million of transit
profits leading to certain
employment and source-
of-income opportunities

10. Significance cont.…….
For India
 to acquire additional
sources of energy supplies
 Strategic benefit of equating
china in getting a foothold
in Central Asia
For Pakistan TAPI means a
source for the demands of
its energy deficit.

11. For US and Russia
• Russia interested in
TAPI,
• If it manages to
become a part of the
project it will renew
Moscow’s strategic
influence in the
region
• and reduce the EU
source of available
gas field
• US want to connect South
to central Asia to extend
its influence from South
to Central Asia. (New
Great Game)
• It also wants to check
Russia and counter China
• Also looks it as an
alternative to IPI for India,
to weaken the Iran trade
in gas.

12. Challenges
Political
instability in
Central Asia.
the unstable
situation in
Afghanistan
and the complex
Pakistan- India
relationships
• The rivalry between the US to
implement the western style
democracy and Russia to
support the autocrats to
maintain its writ has made the
political situation in CA fragile.
• Pakistan and India conflict over
Kashmir is seen as
unresolvable and makes a
filter for them to see the
interest which lies in
cooperation.

13. Major challenge: Afghanistan Security
In 2008, the Afghan
government promised
to ensure the security
of TAPI pipeline within
two years. Despite of
efforts the Helmand,
Kandahar areas
around TAPI has
remained the heaviest
insurgency areas. Thus
the Companies are
unlikely to make
investments within a
war zone. Building it
under arm guard and
then defending it for
long would mean a
very high cost.

14. Conclusion
• TAPI Potential is high in the development of
concerned countries (particularly of the energy
deficit leading countries of SA- India and Pakistan),
and in initiating an inter-regional trade and in
promotion of relative peace between India and
Pakistan in the region.
• the US interference and its opposition to IPI; leading
India to be deprived of IPI in support of US alliance,
urges it to try to get a bigger share of TAPI to its own
benefit instead of its giving up IPI deal, would mean
the persistence of conflict in agreement over TAPI
• Afghanistan Security challenges as a major route