Trend quotes Eurasian Energy Futures Initiative Nonresident Senior Fellow Micha’el Tanchum on the benefits of an undersea Iran-Oman-India pipeline:
Micha’el Tanchum is a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Eurasian Energy Futures Initiative and Global Energy Center at The Atlantic Council told Trend Dec.8 that For India, a dedicated pipeline for Persian Gulf natural gas imports would be an important geopolitical gain in its competition with China. “In addition to the claimed commercial advantage for India of undersea piped gas imports over surface-borne LNG imports, New Delhi will have a strong political will to actualize Iranian piped exports via an Iran-Oman-India pipeline. In the long term, Indo-Iranian energy cooperation could facilitate the creation of an alternative Europe-to-Asia corridor to China’s OBOR centered on the western Indian Ocean”.
He added that the same pipeline system could also be used for the transport of natural gas from Qatar to India, thereby creating a nexus of Persian Gulf natural gas suppliers for one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. “The potential would exist for Turkmenistan to export its gas to India across Iran and via the undersea pipeline, possibly providing New Delhi and Ashgabat an alternative delivery route to Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline”.
According to Tanchum, For Oman, the pipeline would significantly advance Oman’s ambitions to be a regional gas hub.
Coming to Tehran, he said that For Iran, the pipeline provides a secure delivery route and significant market share in India, now the fastest growing major economy. “It will also create an opportunity to expand its export relations with other countries in the Persian Gulf. However, Iran needs to exercise careful planning to ensure that it diversifies the places it occupies in the value chain. The new petrochemical complex being developed in Chabahar is an important step in this direction. Through undersea piped gas, LNG and Petrochemical exports to Asia, and expanded bunkering services, Iran will become a major actor in the energy architecture of the Indian Ocean”.