Islamabad reviews gas pipeline options

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Pakistan said it called for a ministerial meeting next week to consider prospects for two international natural gas pipelines, including one from Iran.

A source in the Pakistani government told The Nation newspaper that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources called a ministerial meeting next week to consider a natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan and one from Iran.

The U.S. government and Asian Development Bank have thrown support behind the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline. Turkmenistan will present the economic prospects of a planned natural gas pipeline to India in a road show through October, the government said.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said the TAPI pipeline would ensure the safe delivery of more than 1 trillion cubic feet of Turkmen natural gas to downstream consumers. His government aims to attract investors to the project through an international road show lasting through October.

TAPI is favored by Washington over Iran's plans to build a similar project from its giant South Pars natural gas field in the Persian Gulf. Pakistani officials, however, have shrugged off concerns about the project in favor of addressing a lingering energy crisis.

China and Russia have emerged as potential players in the Iranian project.