The Hindu : IOC, GAIL in race for TAP pipeline project

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2003

Business

Business

IOC, GAIL in race for TAP pipeline project

NEW DELHI JULY 15. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and GAIL (India) have submitted bids for construction of the $2.5 billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) pipeline, which will move natural gas from Turkmenistan's Dauletabad fields through Afghanistan to Pakistan's Multan. While IOC has tied-up with Russian construction firm Stroystransgaz (STG), GAIL has roped in Gazprom, also of Russia, for putting in the joint bid.

GAIL Chairman and Managing Director, Proshanto Banerjee, said, "We have expressed interest in designing, construction, operation and maintenance of the proposed pipeline to ADB". The two Indian State-run firms will possibly face Petronas of Malaysia in September when the contract is expected to be awarded.

The part-ADB-funded pipeline would move up to 30-billion cubic metre a year of gas from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and possibly India. Construction on the pipeline is scheduled to begin by early 2004.

Mr. Banerjee, however, ruled out extension of the pipeline to India as New Delhi continues to have security concerns on safe delivery of gas owing to `instability' in Afghanistan. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan have formally invited India to join the project but New Delhi has not yet accepted the offer. India's participation in the project is vital as it has the biggest natural gas market, which would make the pipeline profitable. "We will only be constructing the pipeline and are not associated with gas marketing," he said.

The pipeline from the world's fourth largest gas field in Dauletabad in southeast Turkmenistan will pass through Herat/Kandahar in Afghanistan to Quetta-Multan in Pakistan covering 1650 km. The proposed pipeline, which will also be extended to Arabian Sea ports in Pakistan for shipment of gas to other Asian markets, will take three years to build, Mr. Banerjee said. The Asian Development Bank has awarded U.K. engineering consultancy Penspen the techno-economic feasibility study for the project. He said the plan was to transport gas produced in the established Dauletabad field to under-supplied markets in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Afghanistan would benefit from the transit fee and from potential offtakes to its own gas markets, he said adding the study was expected to take five months for completion.

PTI

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Business