Turkmenistan promotes international gas pipelines

摘要

Neither conflict in Afghanistan nor the prospect of retaliation from Russia will prevent Turkmenistan from exporting its gas to new markets in South Asia and Europe. That is the main conclusion to be drawn from wide-ranging talks with senior Turkmen and foreign corporate officials in Ashgabat in November. The Turkmen government is pushing ahead with both the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) and Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline (TCGP). However, while ministers and senior officials publicly place the two projects on an equal footing, in practice, TAPI seems to be the priority. "Personally, I believe TAPI is more realistic than TCGP," one very well-placed source told Platts in Ashgabat. "But TAPI will require some time because of the size of the market."