Bangladesh requests to join TAPI

Bangladesh has expressed interest in joining the four nation TAPI gas pipeline project, which will source gas from Turkmenistan.

“There was a request from Bangladesh to join the project. We require official note for this which will be considered by all the four governments of TAPI project,” Kakageldy Abdullaev, Turkmenistan’s Acting Minister of Oil & Gas Industry and Mineral Resources recently told the media at the Petrotech 2012 Conference.

Estimated to cost US$ 7.6 billion, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline will consist of 1680 km of pipeline, with a total gas capacity of 90 million m³/d. Afghanistan and Pakistan have committed to the safety and security of the pipeline. If Bangladesh is accepted into the project, then the pipeline length would be increased.

The 90 million m³/d gas would be carried from Turkmenistan over a 30 year period, with Afghanistan consuming 14 million m³/d, and India and Pakistan accounting for 38 million m³/d each. GAIL would import Turkmenistan gas for India, once the pipeline becomes operational in 2018.

Earlier this year, roadshows to attract firms who would build the project held in New York, London and Singapore, and Abdullaev said there was “substantial interest” from institutional investors.

The Minister added that Gas Sale and Purchase Agreements (GSPA) for sale of gas have already been signed with Pakistan and India, and that it is expected to take one year to select a consortium leader and find investors. The pipeline’s construction is anticipated to begin in 2015.

The Asian Development Bank is the lead partner for the project, and is helping the four nations put together a credible consortium that will build and operate the line passing through Afghanistan and Pakistan territories.

Edited from various sources by Cecilia Rehn.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/16102012/bangladesh_requests_to_join_tapi_natural_gas_pipeline_project/