Turkmenistan agrees trans-Afghan pipeline gas deals

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Turkmenistan agrees trans-Afghan pipeline gas deals

By Marat Gurt

AVAZA, Turkmenistan | Wed May 23, 2012 7:40am EDT

(Reuters) - Turkmenistan agreed on Wednesday to supply natural gas to Pakistan and India in deals that offer major economic benefits but depend on building and defending a U.S.-backed pipeline across chronically unstable Afghanistan.

The route, particularly the 735-km (450-mile) leg through the Afghan provinces of Herat and Kandahar, will need billions of dollars in funding. It faces significant security problems as the Western NATO alliance plans to hand control of Afghanistan to Kabul's own security forces by the middle of next year.

Turkmenistan's state gas company Turkmengaz signed gas sales and purchase agreements with Pakistan's Inter State Gas Systems and Indian state-run utility GAIL.

"The implementation of this project will give a powerful impetus to the social and economic development of all the participant countries," Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister Baimurad Hojamukhamedov said before the signing ceremony in Avaza on the Caspian Sea.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/23/us-gas-turkmenistan-idUSBRE84M0NJ20120523

[global1]

1. Hmmmmm... A Carpet Of Gold Or A Carpet Of Bombs........

isn't this pipeline what it was all about? Oh this is gas not oil.

[BlueToTheBone]

2. Dick Cheney lived to see his dream come true. n/t

[TrogL]

3. FINALLY after all these years, they're going to build the pipeline?

Everybody thought I needed to be fitted for a tinfoil hat when I first started babbling about this. Before it was taken down, I had a map of the pipeline up on my website. Michael Moore stole it for his movie "Fahrenheit 911".