Tajikistan is a country with rich oil and gas resources but nowhere to pipe them to. Tajikistan does not border pakistan but only a short strip of afghan land seperates the two. not only that but this strip is among the relatively stable area of afghanistan. Tajikistan is a muslim country which could really use the help in the development, and Pakistan could diversify its resource supply.

there might be technical difficulties in passing a pipe in such a mountainous region, there might be security problems and there might be diplomatic problems with afghanistan. nonetheless, it is an interesting option.

What do you think?

I dont think passing a pipeline through wakhan strip is technically feasable, so until there is peace in Afghanistan such a project might not be possible.

Regards
Bilal

AGREED , more of a wet dream

The TAP project is the one favored by the USA on the basis that they can secure Afghanistan. The funding for the TAP project is linked solely to the security issue. The time for this project is running out as other more promising energy pipelines which were conceived later but are progressing faster are overtaking it in importance and funding.
Pakistan should not shelve any potential deal as Pakistan sets itself up as a regional energy hub. Instead Pakistan should apply more pressure on the USA and its allies on the ground to commit greater resources to secure the Afghanistan. Its no secret that Karzai wants to see this deal over the Iran/Pakistan/India deal but as usual his mouth overtakes the realities on the ground.
At the last SAARC meeting Afghanistan was squealing for the TAP project in the face of a near completed IPI deal with no great success. Pakistan's leadership have proven themselves as versatile realistic decision makers in a region of instability while not closing any doors they have opened other avenues for the future energy security of Pakistan.

Take over Wakhan Strip, what the hell Afghanistan is going to do?

May be get it on lease, or if its possible get the Pipeline via China

I am sure its not that hard (comparatively) to secure the Wakhan strip. Its a NA stronghold.

It doesnt seem to be feasible on technical grounds. The terrain is too harsh to allow a feasible pipeline to be placed.

Going through China has the same terrain problem.

its not technically feasible, wakhan corrdior is very harsh/rough terrain. the strip actually borders my home district of Chitral, and the border is near yarkhun Gol, a place which has an extremly harsh terrain, and no public tranposrtation can reach there right now. the only way you can access yarkhun is by a a jeep or sport utlity vehicle, and/or do trekking manually.
So for the monent, its not feabisle, but maybe when technology improves, maybe then?

true alright. as the corridor slopes back, the pattern reverses - area under taliban control but much easier for a pipe to pass through, and also possible to link uzbekistan, which is even more lucrative.
temrez, uzbekistan to peshawar is 450 km only.

if only... but alas, i doubt it will happen.

Doubt it would happen. Laying pipeline in any part of Afghanistan is suicide. NATO, Taliban, NA, AQ are all fighting it out. Its better to leave Afghanistan for now.

Qatar-Pakistan undersea pipeline seems to be a feasible option.

Aoa




Wouldn't that cost a fortune? As for this, well next time the Talibans come to power, we should ask them to give it to us [in exchange for whatever is reasonable.. you know make it offical, once we have it in our control then Afghanistan can't take it from us..]


w/salaam

Tajikistan? You mean Turkmenistan.

Tajikistan has no proven oil or gas reserves. It only has cotton and aliminum.

If Taliban were to come to power, then we make sure we have fenced the border by then and allow only regulated movements to and from the border.

If only Taliban were in firm control then a pipeline would go ahead. But personally, I'd like to see other options explored. Qatar Pakistan wont cost a fortune. It has been deemed feasible.

i thought i had seen an article stating that tajikistan has oil and gas reserves, but after double-checking, you're partially right: they found a big gas field, but no oil reserves at all. however neighbouring uzbekistan and turkmenistan do have very big amounts of oil looking for someone to export to.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=30039

trans-karakoram pipeline. it seems like driving a pipe there is worth all the technical problems of the wakhan.

That is a good article. Wakhan corridor is very much feasible as there are several passes through which the pipeline could pass and avoid the mountain peaks. Ofcourse, it would be challenging but not impossible. The recent interest between Pak and China about connecting railways and building pipelines is going to be a blessing for both the countries.

I think it would be possible to entirely avoid Afghanistan altogether and use Chinese territory to route the pipeline from Turkemanistan and Uzbekistan. And Saudis have already shown lots of interest to come onboard the trans Pakistan pipeline to China. And I am sure then Qatar with its huge gas reserves will come onboard as well.

So I see Pakistan becoming a hub of energy pipelines solving our own as well as everyone's else energy problems in the region. Kind of like an energy exchange.

Yep. Thats Turkmenistan. The project is certainly feasable. Political stability in Afghanistan remains the key impediment however.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2608713.stm

http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/news/ntc65139.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Afghanistan_Pipeline