MUSCAT, Oman, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Central Asia could be a regional energy hub with the construction of a 1,200-mile natural gas pipeline network from Oman, an executive said.
Subodh Kumar Jain, the director of South Asia Gas Enterprise Ltd., told the Times of Oman that his consortium was keen to advance a multilateral underwater gas pipeline that would link Central Asia to the Middle East.
"It is a grand scheme of several pipelines," he said. "It will connect energy producing countries like Iran, Turkmenistan, Qatar, and will pass through the United Arab Emirates and Oman, all the way to India."
He said building a pipeline from Oman to India would cost around $3 billion. It would be a rival to alternative pipeline projects envisioned through Pakistan and Afghanistan that are complicated by security and geopolitical concerns.
"We are now discussing with Iran, Turkmenistan and Qatar for sourcing gas for the proposed pipeline," he said.
The pipeline could carry as much as 1.1 billion cubic feet of gas per day from Oman. The director said construction could start as early as 2015 if interested countries give their blessing to the plans by next year.
