Master Plan Aims to Boost Gas Sector in Afghanistan
Afghanistan will receive technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in developing a 20-year master plan to support the country’s emerging natural gas sector.
The plan (2015-2035) will cover preparation of gas demand and supply outlook scenarios, review current policies and plans, evaluate pricing options for domestic and export sales, and assess the environmental and socioeconomic impact, among others.
The plan aims to support the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum in investment planning and programming.
Studies conducted by the ministry with the US Geological Survey show that Afghanistan has about 444 billion cubic meters of undiscovered recoverable natural gas reserves, and 75 billion cubic meters of identified reserves.
The development of Afghanistan’s natural gas supply chain–including production, transmission, and allocation–requires planning to assure sustainable economic and market growth, according to ADB.
Afghanistan is exploring opportunities to export natural gas to neighboring countries like Turkmenistan and Iran.
Ministries and state-owned companies of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan recently signed a gas supply contract as part of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.
The four countries, in cooperation with ADB, have formed a consortium composed of gas companies from member countries to implement the project.
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