TAPI project - Details, Obstacles and Advantages

TAPI project – Details, Obstacles and Advantages

What is TAPI project? What are the obstacles in development of TAPI project? If successful what benefits would the region get?

TAPI (Turkmenistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan – India pipeline)

-A 1680 km pipeline from Turkmenistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan – India (TAPI)
- A proposed natural gas pipeline expected to complete by 2017
– It will transit 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Turkmenistan gas over 30 years
– It will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India.
– Funded by the Asian Development Bank.
- India has to pay a transit fee to Pakistan and Afghanistan as the pipeline passes through these nations.
– It will achieve energy security for India.

Route

From the Dauletabad Oil fields in Turkmenistan and will move into Afghanistan along a highway running from Herat to Kandahar and it will then enter Pakistan via Quetta, Multan and from there to Fazilka (located at the Indo-Pak border) in India.

Obstacles

1. The planned route of the 1800 km pipeline will pass through 735 km of southern and western Afghanistan, regions which are hotbed of terrorism. Withdrawal of US troops will put question mark on security aspects.

2. The pipeline will also pass through Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan Province, a region suffering from separatist and sectarian violence.

3. Moreover poorly guarded oil/gas pipelines in the region have been favorite targets of terrorists.

4. Any downturn in India Pakistan relation can hamper TAPI project.

5. The cost of the project is estimated to be 12 billion Dollars. Though Asian Development Bank is assisting the project but funding from other sources is required which is difficult because Private players are doubtful about success of project.

Advantages of TAPI Project

1. Would promote positive political and economic interaction between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan over trade and terrorism are high , but TAPI would provide good option for mutually-beneficial economic cooperation.

2. TAPI could help improve relations between India and Pakistan and it will reduce chances of armed conflict between these two nuclear powers. Joint support for TAPI could widen economic co-operation between two countries.

3. TAPI has the potential to contribute to reconciliation in Afghanistan, by creating economic opportunity for the Afghan people. It could create a job opportunity in war-torn countries.

4. Turkmenistan has the world’s sixth largest reserves of natural gas. With further energy infrastructure investments, the country could become a major energy
exporter. The more natural gas that gets into world markets, the less power Russia has to coerce America’s allies and friends.

5. TAPI would create good alternative to a proposed Indo-Pakistan-Iranian pipeline (IPI), which could help Western powers maintain the economic pressure on Iran to end its nuclear weapons’ program.

6. For India gas can be used as an alternative to petrol, so perhaps it will lessen India’s dependence on oil and in turn reduce its oil imports.