BackKazakhstan keen on joining gas project
Kazakhstan keen on joining gas project
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PTI
New Delhi: Seeking greater engagement with New Delhi in the field of energy, hydrocarbon-rich Kazakhstan has evinced interest in joining the proposed Turkemistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline.
“We are looking at multiple ways for transportation (of energy resources) across the world... We will be interested in joining the TAPI if it is viable," Kazakh Ambassador Kairat E Ulmarov said in New Delhi.
“TAPI can be easily joined by Kazakhstan but we will have to see the viability," he said, adding the assessment for viability was being made.
The TAPI project, currently under feasibility study, is seen as crucial for meeting India’s growing energy needs.
Noting that there was no outlet for energy resources of his country, the envoy said the issue of transportation was being looked into in detail.
President Nur Sultan Nazarbayev also recently stressed the need for tapping the Kazakhstan’s transit possibilities, pointing out that the country is an effective bridge between Europe and Asia.
Ulmarov, while noting that his country had ventured onto massive reform process, said there was scope for cooperation in petrochemical sector.
“Indian companies should have interest and they will find good market there," he said.
On possibility of Indian companies getting blocs for exploration in Kazakhstan, he said OVL is already in talks with Kasmanov Gas for Satpaev offshore oil bloc.
“We would like this to conclude sooner than later," he said, while pointing out that Kazakhstan had offered this bloc without any tendering process as a special case.
Kazakhstan is one of the richest in terms of hydrocarbon resources, processing more than 35 billion barrels of oil and three trillion cubic meters of gas every year.
During his meeting with the Kazakh President in St Petersburg last October on the sidelines of the G-8 Summit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had discussed energy cooperation and said that India would be pleased to participate in large projects in Kazakhstan.
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