The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline construction project is workable in the next four years provided the achievement of financial close, according to Minister of State (Petroleum Division) Musadik Malik.
The minister said that the pipeline would be extended to Gwadar after it crosses the Pakistani border and distributes 1.3 billion cubic feet of gas per day to residential and commercial customers. To transfer gas to the core, he continued, Pakistan will build a pipeline from the Chaman border to Multan as part of the project.
He added that Pakistan is developing a complete refinery program that is anticipated to draw a USD 12 billion investment to create a refinery of the highest caliber within the nation.
The minister added that efforts to increase energy availability are essential for the nation’s economic survival and that every avenue is being considered to guarantee a reliable supply of electricity.
It is significant to note that the global energy crisis is causing serious energy shortages in Pakistan. The government has enforced winter gas load shedding for residential and commercial users and reduced gas deliveries to the power generation industry due to a shortage of spot gas on the global market.
Moreover, President Arif Alvi, last year, said that the government would take all possible steps to complete the multi-billion-dollar Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project. During a meeting with Turkmenistan’s Foreign Minister Meredov Rashid Ovezgeldiyevich, he made this statement and expressed hope that the aforementioned project will help the nation’s energy difficulties.
Sources claim that to speed up work, both parties had suggested creating a committee within the Joint Working Group. The proposed project is broken up into two phases: the compressor station installation costs USD 1.9 billion, while the free flow phase is expected to cost USD 56 billion. The 33 billion cubic meter pipeline project, which spans 1,800 kilometers, began in 2015, and Pakistan’s portion of the project got underway in 2018.