Pipeline politics—A study of India's proposed cross border gas projects

India's energy situation is characterized by increasing energy demand, high fossil fuel dependency, large import shares, and significant portion of population deprived of modern energy services. At this juncture, natural gas, being the cleanest fossil fuel with high efficiency and cost effectiv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy policy 2013-11, Vol.62, p.145-156
Main Authors: HIPPU SALK KRISTLE NATHAN, SANKET SUDHIR KULKARNI, AHUJA, Dilip R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Afghanistan
Applied sciences
Bangladesh
Borders
Burma
Development projects
Economic data
Energy
Energy economics
Energy policy
Exact sciences and technology
Fossil fuels
Fossil fuels and derived products
Fuels
Gas
Gas industry
Gas pipelines
Gas transmission and distribution. Ships. Pipelines. Distribution networks. Compressors stations
General, economic and professional studies
India
Iran
Natural gas
Oil industry
Pakistan
Pipelines
Power demand
Reserves
Security
Turkmenistan
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Summary:India's energy situation is characterized by increasing energy demand, high fossil fuel dependency, large import shares, and significant portion of population deprived of modern energy services. At this juncture, natural gas, being the cleanest fossil fuel with high efficiency and cost effectiveness, is expected to play an important role. India, with only 0.6% of proven world reserves, is not endowed with adequate natural gas domestically. Nevertheless, there are gas reserves in neighbouring regions which gives rise to the prospects of three cross border gas pipeline projects, namely, Iran-Pakistan-India, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India, and Myanmar-Bangladesh-India. This study is a political analysis of these pipeline projects. First, it provides justification on use of natural gas and promotion of cross border energy trade. Then it examines these three pipeline projects and analyses the security concerns, role of different actors, their positions, shifting goals, and strategies. The study develops scenarios on the basis of changing circumstances and discusses some of the pertinent issues like technology options for underground/underwater pipelines and role of private players. It also explores impact of India's broader foreign relations and role of SAARC on the future of pipelines and proposes energy induced mutually assured protection (MAP) as a concept for regional security. [PUBLICATIONABSTRACT]
ISSN:0301-4215
1873-6777
DOI:10.1016/j.enpol.2013.06.073