Govt to renegotiate gas prices with TPCL

ISLAMABAD:  Renegotiations regarding gas price under the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Project Company Limited (TPCL) to establish compatible rates are currently underway by the government and relevant authorities, a senior official related to petroleum-sector development announced.

The construction work on Pakistan’s section of the gas pipeline in Chaman will follow after the process of renegotiations. Stretching over 1,680 kilometres, the 56-inch diameter pipeline will have the capacity to transmit 3.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas. The gas pipeline will be laid from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Pakistan-India border by the year 2022.

The multibillion-dollar transnational gas project is divided into 2 phases. Once the groundwork to lay the pipeline from Chaman to Multan via Quetta and Dera Ismail Khan commences, it will take about 30 months and $5-6 billion for the free flow of gas in the pipeline under the Phase-I of the project. The second phase comprises of installing compressor stations at a cost of $1.9-2 billion.

Under the TAPI agreement, 1.325 bcfd of gas will be provided to both Pakistan and India, whereas Afghanistan will receive 0.5 bcfd of gas. The intergovernmental agreement and a gas pipeline framework agreement was signed by the member countries on December 11, 2010.

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