(MENAFN- Wadsam) Local news sources from Saudi Arabia say that the country is
studying the issue of supporting financing for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India
(TAPI) gas pipeline projects.
'Saudi Arabia's support of gas exports from Turkmenistan to
India is the biggest shift in world trade of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for
India,' Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadh quotes Minister of Energy, Industry and
Mineral Resources of Saudia Arabia Khalid Al-Falih.
This comes as Saudi Arabia is promoting joint investments in
the countries of the Caspian region in the energy, oil, gas and mining sectors.
TAPI is an important linchpin in the realization of the New
Silk Road in the arena of energy where Afghanistan again plays a central role
in connecting energy-rich Central Asia to energy-deficient South Asia. The idea
of the USD 7.6bn (initial estimate of the cost) pipeline first originated in
1995 when the Turkmenistan and Pakistan leaders signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU).
The project aims to export up to 33 billion cubic meters
(bcm) of natural gas per year through a proposed 1,800-kilomter pipeline from
the 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. The pipeline could become a recipe for long-term stability
in Afghanistan by generating revenue for the Afghan government and creating
jobs for Afghans in general.
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