NEW DELHI, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Russian gas monopoly Gazrpom is examining a role in a natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan as economic ties with Iran turn sour, an energy official said.
Russian officials visited gas-rich Turkmenistan in an effort to improve bilateral ties. Ashgabat blames Gazprom for an explosion on one of its pipelines, which prompted the country to look to the West for new customers.
New Delhi embraced the multilateral Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-India gas pipeline as a way to secure vital gas supplies.
TAPI is a Western-backed rival to an Iranian pipeline from the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf. The pipeline would move natural gas from the Dauletabad field in Turkmenistan, which holds more than 40 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Gazprom, according to Russian energy czar and Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, is interested in joining TAPI as a rival to the Iranian gas pipeline.
Indian newspaper The Hindu reports that the shift from the Iranian pipeline to the Turkmen pipeline represents a Russian move away from Tehran.
Moscow recently backed out of a deal to sell Iran its S-300 missile defense system, citing economic pressure from the United Nations.
