Oil and Gas: Pakistan and Afghanistan discuss Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan pipeline

Pakistan and Afghanistan are holding talks in Islamabad, to discuss the multibillion dollar Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) gas pipeline project.

According to the Asian Development Bank(ADB), the $3.5 billion,1,680-kilometre pipeline will annually transport 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas from the Dauletabad fields in southeast Turkmenistan to consumers in Afghanistan, Pakistan and possibly India.

Analysts predict that such a project would allow former Soviet Central Asian nations to export energy resources without relying on Russian routes.