Ashgabat, 21 October. Turkmengaz is building the Afghan section of the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline from Serhetabat to Herat, and gas supplies through it will begin in 2027, Minister of State and state concern chairman Maksat Babayev said at the Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan (OGT 2026) conference.
Work is on schedule, Babayev said. TAPI Pipeline Company chief executive Mukhammetmyrat Amanov said that the 153 km section from the Turkmen border to Herat is 80% complete and is expected to be commissioned before the end of 2026. Turkmengaz and Afghanistan's state-owned Afghan Gas are jointly developing infrastructure for gas supply and distribution in Herat: the two sides signed a memorandum on 10 August, during a visit to Herat by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the National Leader of the Turkmen people.
Mohammad Nazim Samun, head of the TAPI coordination office at Afghanistan's Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, said the construction of the Herat section had provided experience for the whole project and that the progress achieved should convince investors and shareholders that the pipeline can be taken further towards Pakistan and India. TAPI, 1,800 km long, is designed to carry up to 33 billion cubic metres of gas a year; construction began in December 2015, and so far only the 214 km Turkmen section is complete.
What it means: Almost 11 years after construction of TAPI began, Turkmen gas is due to flow through the pipeline to Afghanistan for the first time, as far as Herat; the onward route to Pakistan and India remains a plan for now.
Who benefits: Turkmenistan, which is looking for gas buyers other than China, and Afghanistan, which will get gas for Herat. Pakistan and India, for which the pipeline was conceived, are not yet receiving gas through it.
Background: Turkmenistan's main resource base is the Galkynysh field: according to the auditor Gaffney, Cline & Associates, its reserves together with the Garakol and Yashlar structures amount to 27.4 trillion cubic metres of gas. China is the largest buyer of Turkmen gas: more than 477 billion cubic metres had been delivered by 1 October through the Turkmenistan–China pipeline, which has operated since December 2009.
List of sources used: Turkmenportal, Mining Industry KZ
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
