Why Indias Import Pipelines have remained Pipe Dreams?
By Bhamy V. Shenoy In less than 10 years from conceptualization to start-up, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline of 1,760 km and the Shah Deniz Gas Pipeline of about 1,000 km have been built in the Caucasus. In India, for more than 20 years we have been talking about gas pipelines from Qatar, Iran, Turkmenistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Not one has been built. Not even one is on the drawing board. Millions of rupees have been spent on endless number of feasibility studies. Even more important, precious time to diversify energy sources for national security has been lost. India should be able to learn from the experience of building these pipelines in the Caucasus. As the West learnt that there was billions of oil to be exploited beneath Caspian Sea, a New Great Game started. The old Great Game played in Central Asia was to get access and rule India. The New Great Game was to divert the black gold to Western markets avoiding Russian territory and Iran. There were many complications in t
