India wants better price and security: why Tapi may not reach its destination

Synopsis
Supply via the Tapi pipeline could fulfil 30%-35% of India’s gas requirements. But the country finds the landed price of Turkmen gas at USD10 per mmBtu too high. Also, concern over Pakistan cutting supply in case of a conflict is holding back India from going full throttle on the project. The alternative: US gas.

The setup was perfect to roll out a big-ticket energy project spanning four countries. It had guaranteed gas supply, needy buyers, and initial backing of a multilateral financial institution. Yet nothing went to plan. Three years after the four participating nations signed an initial investment agreement to turn the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) gas pipeline into reality, the chances of the project reaching its final destination