France's Total Shows Interest in Leading TAPI Consortium

France’s energy firm Total has evinced interest in steering the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, Indian newspaper The Hindu reported Thursday.

The project has failed to take off as no entity has shown interest in leading the consortium.

“No party has been willing pitch in the required capital that would be sufficient to energise the project,” a highly placed source told The Hindu.

However, the French major has now shown an inclination to lead a consortium, with the backing of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which would play a key advisory and facilitating role to help get the project off-ground, the newspaper added.

Asian Development Bank was last year appointed as transaction adviser. The four countries have asked the ADB to find out the lead consortium by November this year so that construction work could be kicked off in the four countries as soon as possible. The TAPI project is scheduled to be completed by end of 2017.

In July, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India signed the operational agreement pertaining to the $7.6 billion TAPI gas pipeline project.

The 1,735-kilometre-long pipeline, starting from the Yolotan-Osman gas field in Turkmenistan,  will supply Pakistan and India with 1.327 billion cubic feet per day (BCFPD) of gas while Afghanistan will get 500 mmcfd.