India keen to pick stake in Turkmenistan gas field
Thursday, 27 May 2010
NEW DELHI, May 26 (PTI): India yesterday sought stake in a gas field in Turkmenistan and offered to lay pipeline to transport the fuel to consumers, even as the Central Asian nation nudged India to take call on the TAPI cross-country gas line.
"We expressed our interest in developing gas field in Turkmenistan," Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said after calling on visiting Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), and gas utility GAIL India are keen to acquire stake in an onland gas field in Turkmenistan.
"We told them that we are willing to lay pipeline to transport the gas (from the field) to their preferred destination," Oil Secretary S Sundareshan said.
Berdymukhammedov, sources said, was keen to revive talks on the much delayed gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan and India via Afghanistan.
Despite being backed by the United States and Asian Development Bank as an alternative to a line from Iran, the pipeline has so far not moved beyond discussion tables.
Volatile security situation in Afghanistan has been blamed for not much physical progress and talks were stalled when Turkmenistan demanded USD 400-450 per thousand cubic meters (around USD 12.7 per million British thermal unit) for the gas it plans to export through Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan- India (TAPI) gas pipeline.
New Delhi had previously offered a price of USD 200-230 per mmBtu.
The four nations to the TAPI project haven't yet met to finalise a project framework agreement that will detail issues like gas price, project structure, security of the pipeline and route the USD 7.6 billion line would take.
"We expressed our interest in developing gas field in Turkmenistan," Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said after calling on visiting Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), and gas utility GAIL India are keen to acquire stake in an onland gas field in Turkmenistan.
"We told them that we are willing to lay pipeline to transport the gas (from the field) to their preferred destination," Oil Secretary S Sundareshan said.
Berdymukhammedov, sources said, was keen to revive talks on the much delayed gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan and India via Afghanistan.
Despite being backed by the United States and Asian Development Bank as an alternative to a line from Iran, the pipeline has so far not moved beyond discussion tables.
Volatile security situation in Afghanistan has been blamed for not much physical progress and talks were stalled when Turkmenistan demanded USD 400-450 per thousand cubic meters (around USD 12.7 per million British thermal unit) for the gas it plans to export through Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan- India (TAPI) gas pipeline.
New Delhi had previously offered a price of USD 200-230 per mmBtu.
The four nations to the TAPI project haven't yet met to finalise a project framework agreement that will detail issues like gas price, project structure, security of the pipeline and route the USD 7.6 billion line would take.