Afghanistan Oil Pipeline: Difference between revisions
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==History== |
==History== |
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In the 1990s, the American [[Unocal Corporation]] considered building a {{convert|1100|mi|km|order=flip|adj=mid|-long}} {{bbl to t|1000000|per=d|t_per=a}} oil pipeline to link Turkmenistan's [[Türkmenabat]] to India along the [[Arabian Sea]], providing a possible alternative export route to the [[Omsk]] (Russia) – [[Pavlodar]] (Kasakhstan) – [[Shymkent]] – [[Türkmenabat]] Pipeline. The pipeline was expected to cost US$2.5 billion. However, due to political and security instability at that time, the project was put on hold. |
In the 1990s, the American [[Unocal Corporation]] considered building a {{convert|1100|mi|km|order=flip|adj=mid|-long}} {{bbl to t|1000000|per=d|t_per=a}} oil pipeline to link Turkmenistan's [[Türkmenabat]] to India along the [[Arabian Sea]], providing a possible alternative export route to the [[Omsk]] (Russia) – [[Pavlodar]] (Kasakhstan) – [[Shymkent]] – [[Türkmenabat]] Pipeline. The pipeline was expected to cost US$2.5 billion. However, due to political and security instability at that time, the project was put on hold. |
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In 2018, Afghanistan broke ground on the 1,127-mile-long Afghanistan oil pipeline that will connect the state of Punjab in northern India with the Galkynysh gas field in the desert in eastern Turkmenistan. Once energy starts to flow, the country of Afghanistan expects about $400 million a year in transit fees, partly offsetting some of the international aid that now props up the government.<ref name=NYTimes/> |
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The United States is backing the pipeline, which will carry 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year, passing through five southern Afghan provinces — Herat, Farah, Nimruz, Helmand and Kandahar — that have been Taliban strongholds, and a major security concern. However, both the Taliban and Pakistan, a country believed to hold sway over the insurgent group, have pledged support.<ref name=NYTimes/> |
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At an estimated cost of US$10 billion,<ref>[https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/taliban-vows-protect-gas-pipeline-war-expands-west-afghanistan Gas Pipeline War] by Ayaz Gul, Voice of America, May 19th, 2018.</ref> an Isle of Man-based holding company will oversee the project with Turkmengaz, a Turkmenistan state company. Turkmenistan officials have also said that they have received loans from Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Development Bank. The pipeline is expected to be completed by 2020.<ref name=NYTimes/> |
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== Controversy == |
== Controversy == |
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Revision as of 09:35, 15 August 2021
| Afghanistan Oil Pipeline | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India |
| General direction | north–south |
| From | Türkmenabat |
| Passes through | Afghanistan Pakistan |
| To | India's various northern states |
| Runs alongside | Trans-Afghanistan Gas Pipeline |
| General information | |
| Type | Oil |
| Owner | Unocal Corporation |
| Technical information | |
| Length | 1,813 km (1,127 mi) |
| Maximum discharge | 1 million barrels per day (~5.0×107 t/a) |
The Afghanistan Oil Pipeline was a project proposed by several oil companies to transport oil from the Caspian region] and Central Asia through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India.
History
In the 1990s, the American Unocal Corporation considered building a 1,800-kilometre-long (1,100 mi) 1,000,000 barrels per day (~5.0×107 t/a) oil pipeline to link Turkmenistan's Türkmenabat to India along the Arabian Sea, providing a possible alternative export route to the Omsk (Russia) – Pavlodar (Kasakhstan) – Shymkent – Türkmenabat Pipeline. The pipeline was expected to cost US$2.5 billion. However, due to political and security instability at that time, the project was put on hold.
Controversy
Some have proposed that the actual motive for the United States-led Western invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was Afghanistan's importance as a conduit for oil pipelines to Afghanistan's neighbouring countries, by effectively bypassing Russian and Iranian territories, and breaking the Russian and Iranian collective monopoly on regional energy supplies.[1] Others have argued that the theoretical pipeline was not a significant reason for the invasion because most Western governments and their respective oil companies preferred an export route that went through the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan then to Georgia and on to the Black Sea instead of one that goes through Afghanistan. [2]
See also
References
- ^ Seth Stevenson (2001-12-06). "Pipe Dreams". Slate. Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
- ^ Malcolm Haslett (2001-10-29). "Afghanistan: the pipeline war?". BBC. Archived from the original on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-09.