India inked TAPI Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement with Turkmenistan

GAIL (India) Limited inked the gas sale and purchase agreement (GSPA) with TurkmenGaz, Turkmenistan's national oil company, for the 7.6-billion TAPI project on 23 May 2012. The agreement would enable India to bring gas from Turkmenistan.

The Union Cabinet of India had approved the TAPI project on 17 May 2012, which subsequently paved the way for signing the agreement. The proposed 1680 km pipeline of which, 144 km falls in Turkmenistan, 735 km in Afghanistan and 800 km in Pakistan, will have a capacity to supply 90 mscmd (Million Standard Cubic Metres per Day) of gas. India and Pakistan each will be entitled to have 38 mscmd of the gas while the remaining 14 mscmd will be given to Afghanistan.

The TAPI pipeline is expected to be operational in 2018 and supply gas for the next 30 years. The GSPA includes all the terms and conditions related to the pact and will be signed bilaterally between the members. The bids for building and operating the pipeline will be invited following the agreements among all the member countries.