Gazprom studies 10 routes for gas pipeline to India
MOSCOW. June 16 (Interfax) - Gazprom has analyzed over 10 routes for supplying pipeline gas to India, Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev said on Rossiya 24 television.
"Massive projects don't scare us. All the more so that India's population, 1.25 billion people, will be demanding more and more energy. It is hard to imagine that the population of this country will differ from other countries in its consumer preferences. This means that India will demand a lot of energy and of course gas is one of the most reliable sources," he said.
"But how to get the gas there: LNG. Of course we will deliver LNG to India. Pipeline gas may look exotic now... But we analyzed over 10 different routes, discarded some of them. And as opportunities arise, do regional swaps, involve not just Russia and Iran in this process by China and neighboring countries. I don't rule out that quite soon we will find a solution that will enable us to begin this project," Medvedev said.
It was reported earlier that Gazprom and Engineers India Limited signed a memorandum of understanding in October 2016 on joint study of pipeline routes for supplying gas from Russia and other countries to India. The proposed transit countries include virtually all of India's neighbors and countries next to them: Mongolia, China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, Oman, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
Russian companies are considering participation in the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, from one of the world's biggest gas producers - Turkmenistan - to one of the world's most rapidly developing markets - India. They are also looking at the possibility of laying an Iran-Pakistan-India offshore pipeline.
