Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Pipeline
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The Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) Pipeline, also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, is a
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
pipeline Pipeline may refer to: Electronics, computers and computing * Pipeline (computing), a chain of data-processing stages or a CPU optimization found on ** Instruction pipelining, a technique for implementing instruction-level parallelism within a s ...
being developed by the Galkynysh – TAPI Pipeline Company Limited with participation of the
Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field offic ...
. The pipeline will transport natural gas from the
Galkynysh Gas Field The Galkynysh Gas Field, formerly known as Iolotan gas field or South Yolotan – Osman field, is a large natural gas field near Ýolöten in Mary Province of Turkmenistan. It is the world's second-largest gas field. History The discovery of t ...
in
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
through
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
into
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
and then to
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Construction on the project started in Turkmenistan on 13 December 2015, work on the Afghan section began in February 2018, and work on the Pakistani section was planned to commence in December 2018. The abbreviation TAPI comes from the first letters of those countries. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road. As of 2022, construction of the pipeline remains stalled.


History

The roots of this project lie in the involvement of international oil companies in
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
and Turkmenistan beginning of 1990s. As
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, who controlled all export pipelines of these countries, consistently refused to allow the use of its pipeline network, these companies needed an independent export route avoiding both
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and Russia. The original project started on 15 March 1995 when an inaugural memorandum of understanding between the governments of Turkmenistan and Pakistan for a pipeline project was signed. This project was promoted by
Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...
company Bridas Corporation. The U.S. company
Unocal Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headqu ...
, in conjunction with the Saudi oil company Delta, promoted an alternative project without Bridas' involvement. On 21 October 1995, these two companies signed a separate agreement with Turkmenistan's president Saparmurat Niyazov. In August 1996, the Central Asia Gas Pipeline, Ltd. (CentGas) consortium for construction of a pipeline, led by Unocal, was formed. On 27 October 1997, CentGas was incorporated in formal signing ceremonies in
Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lie ...
, Turkmenistan, by several international oil companies along with the
Government of Turkmenistan The politics of Turkmenistan takes place in the framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Turkmenistan is both head of state and head of government. However, no true opposition parties are allowed; every registered political ...
. Since the pipeline was to pass through Afghanistan, it was necessary to work with the Taliban. The U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Robert Oakley, left his post and was hired by CentGas in 1997. In January 1998, the
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
, selecting CentGas over Argentinian competitor Bridas Corporation, signed an agreement that allowed the proposed project to proceed. In June 1998, Russian Gazprom relinquished its 10% stake in the project. On 7 August 1998, American embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam were bombed. The United States alleged that Osama bin Laden was behind those attacks, and all pipeline negotiations halted, as the Taliban's then leader,
Mullah Omar Mullah Muhammad Omar (; –April 2013) was an Afghan Islamic revolutionary who founded the Taliban and served as the supreme leader of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. Born into a religious family of Kandahar, Omar was educated at local '' ma ...
, announced that bin Laden had the Taliban's support. Unocal withdrew from the consortium on 8 December 1998, and soon after closed its offices in Afghanistan and Pakistan. After
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
some people came to believe that a possible motivation for the attacks included justifying the
invasions of Afghanistan Afghanistan is a mountainous landlocked country at the crossroads of Central and South (Southern) Asia. Some of the invaders in the history of Afghanistan include the Maurya Empire, the Ancient Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great of Maced ...
as well as
geostrategic Geostrategy, a subfield of geopolitics, is a type of foreign policy guided principally by geographical factors as they inform, constrain, or affect political and military planning. As with all strategies, geostrategy is concerned with matching m ...
interests such as the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline project, but this is usually dismissed by analysts as a conspiracy theory. The new deal on the pipeline was signed on 27 December 2002 by the leaders of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2005, the Asian Development Bank submitted the final version of a feasibility study designed by British company
Penspen Penspen is a provider of engineering and management services to the oil and gas industry based in London, United Kingdom. Its chief executive officer is Peter O'Sullivan. The company has conducted the front-end engineering design for the Gree ...
. The project has drawn strong US support as it would allow the Central Asian republics to export energy to Western markets "without relying on Russian routes". Then-US Ambassador to Turkmenistan
Tracey Ann Jacobson Tracey Ann Jacobson (born 1965) is an American diplomat and a former United States Ambassador to Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kosovo. She served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from January 2017 ...
noted, "We are seriously looking at the project, and it is quite possible that American companies will join it". Due to increasing instability, the project has essentially stalled; construction of the Turkmen part was supposed to start in 2006, but the overall feasibility is questionable since the southern part of the Afghan section runs through territory which continues to be under ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' Taliban control. On 24 April 2008, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan signed a framework agreement to buy natural gas from Turkmenistan. The intergovernmental agreement on the pipeline was signed on 11 December 2010 in
Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lie ...
. However, in April 2012, India and Afghanistan have failed to agree on transit fee for gas passing through Afghan territory. Consequently, Islamabad and New Delhi too could not agree on the transit fee for the segment of the pipeline passing through Pakistan, which has linked its fee structure to any India-Afghanistan agreement. On 16 May 2012, the
Afghan Parliament The Leadership Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, also translated as the Supreme Council, () (also referred to as the Inner Shura) is the central governing body of the Taliban and Afghanistan. The Taliban uses a consensus decision-maki ...
, approved the agreement on a gas pipeline and the day after, the Indian Cabinet allowed state-run gas-firm
GAIL Gail may refer to: People *Gail (given name), list of notable people with the given name Surname * Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755–1829), French Hellenist scholar * Max Gail (born 1943), American actor * Sophie Gail (1775–1819), French singer and ...
to sign the Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) with
Türkmengaz Türkmengaz is the national gas company of Turkmenistan. From January to November 2020, Türkmengaz had US$4.13bn in revenue. It is the largest gas company in Central Asia. The chairman of the company, with rank of minister of state, is Batyr Ama ...
, Turkmenistan's national oil company. Construction on the project started in Turkmenistan on 13 December 2015 and was completed by mid-2019. Construction on the Afghan side started on 24 February 2018, while construction on the Pakistan side is planned to start by October 2019 and be completed in 2020. The Taliban have vowed to cooperate and not disrupt the project in areas they control.


Technical features

The pipeline will be in diameter with a working pressure of . The capacity will be of natural gas per year of which will be provided to Afghanistan and to each Pakistan and India. Six compressor stations would be constructed along the pipeline. The pipeline was intended to be operational by 2019. Originally, the cost of the pipeline project was reportedly estimated at US$7.6 billion, but a more recent estimate was $10 billion. The leading partner of the project is
Türkmengaz Türkmengaz is the national gas company of Turkmenistan. From January to November 2020, Türkmengaz had US$4.13bn in revenue. It is the largest gas company in Central Asia. The chairman of the company, with rank of minister of state, is Batyr Ama ...
.


Route

The pipeline will run from Galkynysh gas fields in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan to India. It starts from the
Galkynysh gas field The Galkynysh Gas Field, formerly known as Iolotan gas field or South Yolotan – Osman field, is a large natural gas field near Ýolöten in Mary Province of Turkmenistan. It is the world's second-largest gas field. History The discovery of t ...
. In Afghanistan, TAPI pipeline will be constructed alongside the
Kandahar–Herat Highway The Kandahar–Herat Highway is section of road that links the cities of Kandahar and Herat in Afghanistan. This highway is part of a larger road network, the "Ring Road", and was first constructed by the Soviets in the 1960s. The Kandahar-H ...
in western Afghanistan, and then via
Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of ...
and
Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the old ...
in Pakistan. The final destination of the pipeline will be the Indian town of
Fazilka Fazilka, also known as Bangla, is a city and a municipal council in Fazilka district of Punjab, India. In 2011, it was made the headquarter of the newly created Fazilka district. The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAPI) project originating in Tu ...
, near the border between Pakistan and India.


See also

* Afghanistan Oil Pipeline * Transport in Afghanistan * Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) *
Enron Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional compani ...
's
Dabhol Power Company The Dabhol Power Company (now called RGPPL - Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private Limited) was a company based in Maharashtra, India, formed in 1992 to manage and operate the controversial Dabhol Power Plant. The Dabhol plant was built through the co ...
*
Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline ( az, Transxəzər boru xətti, tk, Transhazar turbaly geçiriji) is a proposed subsea pipeline between Türkmenbaşy in Turkmenistan, and Baku in Azerbaijan. According to some proposals it would also include a c ...
*
South Caucasus Pipeline The South Caucasus Pipeline (also known as Baku–Tbilisi–Erzurum Pipeline, BTE pipeline, or Shah Deniz Pipeline) is a natural gas pipeline from the Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea to Turkey. It runs parallel t ...
*
CentGas Central Asia Gas Pipeline, Ltd. (CentGas) was a consortium formed in the 1990s to develop a project to build the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline from Turkmenistan's natural gas fields to Pakistan. The consortium had also considered an extension of t ...
*
Port of Chabahar Chabahar Port ( fa, بندر چابهار) is a seaport in Chabahar located in southeastern Iran, on the Gulf of Oman. It serves as Iran's only oceanic port, and consists of two separate ports named ''Shahid Kalantari'' and ''Shahid Beheshti'', ...
* Ashgabat agreement


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Pipeline Natural gas pipelines in Afghanistan Natural gas pipelines in Turkmenistan Natural gas pipelines in Pakistan Natural gas pipelines in India Proposed pipelines in Asia Afghanistan–India relations Afghanistan–Pakistan relations Afghanistan–Turkmenistan relations India–Pakistan relations Pakistan–Turkmenistan relations Proposed infrastructure in India