Due to geopolitical concerns and exorbitant costs, Gazprom has abandoned the construction of a gas pipeline to India and Japan.
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According to Russian media, Alexander Perov, the head of the Russian Energy Security Fund, revealed that Gazprom has abandoned plans to build pipelines in India and Japan due to political and financial considerations, reports Seetao.
At a media briefing, Gazprom Vice President Yelena Bulmistrova said that the building of the natural gas pipeline from Russia to India has been postponed, citing it as “a route that is too capital-intensive.”
According to the report, in reaction to the comments made by the Gazprom official, Perov stated: “Negotiating on natural gas pipelines began as early as 2017, and India supports the implementation of such projects. However, it was clear from the beginning that the project has many geographies. Political risk. The main problem is related to the area through which the pipeline needs to pass. Therefore, it is foreseeable that Gazprom, as one of the project participants, will have such a position as it is today. After properly assessing the difficulties, Russia is unwilling to accept this. Program.”
In 1996, Iran suggested building a pipeline from Pakistan to India. At the time, the nation intended to invest $7 billion in the construction of a 2,775-kilometer-long natural gas pipeline, with the South Pars producing area serving as the gas source. According to the report, the project has been continually postponed due to geopolitical disputes between countries and US opposition. Because of its disagreement with Iran’s nuclear program, Washington placed sanctions on the country in 2008, worsening the situation.
According to the article, these disagreements have forced India to shift its strategy, end collaboration with Iran, and begin developing alternative routes from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Perov stated that if all of India’s suggestions are followed, Russia will face numerous obstacles because the pipeline will run through the mountains of Afghanistan, which is the focus of the US. According to the expert featured in the report: “All of this will bring high financial costs. This factor proves the correctness of the current position of the Russian multinational energy company.”
Bulmistrova also stated that the corporation would not contemplate constructing the projected natural gas pipeline from Russia to Japan in 2017. According to the report, the 15,000-kilometer pipeline will link Hokkaido and Sakhalin Island at a cost of 6.7 billion US dollars, based on both sides’ visions.
Perov noted that under the current plan, Russia will face a gas supply issue: Russia’s gas field is insufficient to support such a large-scale bilateral venture. According to the study, experts believe that in order to compensate for the potential losses caused by the unfulfilled plan, Gazprom could explore establishing LNG projects in the Far East.
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