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Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, on a three-day visit to Turkmenistan, sought assurance of gas supply from the central Asian nation’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
Pradhan also met Pakistan’s petroleum minister Jam Kamal Khan on the sidelines of the TAPI Steering Committee Meeting between the petroleum ministers Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Pradhan assured Khan of India’s cooperation on natural gas exports from India to Pakistan apart from expediting commission of Tapi project.
The meeting between the two sides in Ashgabat comes amid revival of talks to set up the much-delayed TAPI gas pipeline project. As part of the project, a 1,800-km pipeline is being set up to export up to 33 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas a year from resource-rich Turkmenistan to India via Afghanistan and Pakistan over 30 years. The minister “reiterated India’s commitment to source natural gas from Turkmenistan through the TAPI project and sought assistance of Turkmenistan for resolving the remaining issues for smooth commissioning of the pipeline,” said the petroleum ministry, in a statement.
Pradhan also stressed upon expanding energy cooperation beyond TAPI into other upstream, midstream and downstream activities, including fertiliser and petrochemical projects. He said Indian public and private sector companies can participate in Turkmenistan in “mutually beneficial projects”.
The minister is accompanied by a delegation, including chiefs of GAIL (India), ONGC Videsh Ltd and senior officials of the ministries of petroleum and external affairs.
India had last week set up a company jointly with Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, which will commission the ambitious TAPI pipeline project. The company was floated with equal stakes held by the state-owned gas companies of the four nations – Turkmengas, Afghan Gas Enterprise, Inter-State Gas Systems and GAIL (India) Ltd.
Turkmenistan has the world’s fourth-largest proven gas reserves and the pipeline will allow the land-locked country to diversify its gas export markets to the southeast.
Turkmen gas, in turn, will provide a key source of fuel for southern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northern India.
Pradhan has also held a meeting with Turkmenistan’s deputy prime minister in charge of petroleum Hojamuhammodov in Ashgabat where he pressed for early completion of the pipeline.
