At a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on January 28, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov signed an Order on sending the Deputy Foreign Minister to the city of Islamabad (Pakistan) to conduct comprehensive negotiations (January 31 - February 4) on the projects of the TAPI gas pipeline and the TAP power line.
On February 1, the Pakistani edition of The news reported that the Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan , Vepa Khadzhiev , discussed with the Minister of Energy of Pakistan , Hammad Azhar , the possibility of accelerating the implementation of both projects.
Hammad Azhar announced the need to complete the TAPI project as soon as possible due to Pakistan's growing need for additional supplies of natural gas.
Pakistan agreed to hold a meeting of the technical working group on the TAP transmission line in a week to discuss the parameters of the preliminary feasibility study for the project. The two sides also agreed to hold a similar meeting on the TAPI project on Tuesday (February 2) to propose a future roadmap based on the project's changed dynamics .
The publication notes that Pakistan now meets one-fourth of its energy needs by importing liquefied natural gas, the cost of which is pegged to the price of crude oil. Since the price of oil has risen to its highest level in the past seven years, this is also driving up the price of imported gas.
On February 2, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan reported that "the Turkmen side briefed the Pakistani delegation on the milestones achieved , ongoing work and future plans for the TAPI project, and the implementation of the TAP project."
The parties also agreed to hold meetings of technical specialists in the near future to discuss the practical implementation of TAPI and TAP and the preparation of a Roadmap for these works.
On the same day, Khadjiev discussed TAPI and TAP with Pakistani Deputy Foreign Minister Sohail Mahmoud . “The Pakistani side noted that these major projects are necessary to ensure the energy security of the country and stressed that the government of Pakistan fully supports the implementation of these projects,” the Turkmen Foreign Ministry writes.
The Gulf News expert believes that the TAPI gas pipelines and the Pakistan Stream (built jointly with Russia) are becoming increasingly important for Pakistan due to the reduction of its own gas reserves. He also suggested that during the discussion, the Pakistani side again asked to revise the prices for Turkmen gas, and also expressed its intention to buy gas on the Afghan-Pakistani, and not the Turkmen-Afghan border.
Previously, Pakistan has already demanded a reduction in prices for gas supplied via TAPI and stated that it refuses to take on transit risks and is ready to buy gas only at its border.
Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan