India to get TAPI gas by 2017, Sudan offers 2 oil blocks

The framework for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project is being readied on a fast-track basis by the four stakeholder nations, Indian Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily said Tuesday.

"Apart from gas, this TAPI pipeline would usher in peace among the nations as well. The gas is expected to reach the border of India by August 2017," Moily said at the Petrotech 2014 international oil and gas conference here.

The transactional advisor for the project has been appointed and the sale purchase agreement drawn up as well, the minister added.

Moily held a series of bilateral meetings at the conference with delegations of Ecuador, Uganda, Sudan,and Azerbaijan to explore the possibilities for cooperation in areas like exploration, petrochemicals and training for oil and gas personnel.

A joint Indian-Ugandan working team is under formation to look into opportunities for cooperation in the newly-opened up Ugandan hydrocarbon sector, he said.

"Sudan and South Sudan are coming to terms with the emerging opportunities in global cooperation and Indian companies are tapping the potential opportunities. Two blocks in Sudan have been offered to India," he added.

State-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp's foreign arm, ONGC Videsh Limited is already present in Sudan in a big way and the future may see its presence expanding in this oil-producing African nation.