Entangled in energy web

Commendable developments have materialized  lately on various avenues of energy sector in Asia with countries fostering forward their collaborations for fulfilling their energy requirements. The     dream of making Asian gas grid could transform the quest for energy by Asian economies into a cooperative, not conflictive enterprise. Regional actors entangled subjectively in energy web of interdependence, could generate far-reaching effect on the security, stability and development of the region. Hence locking their positions by working together in a manner of complex correlation.
The outcome of this interconnectedness would determine the future course of economics, politics, inter-state relationships, economic cooperation and security status of the region as a whole. With growing oil prices skyrocketing, Asian country's thrust for cheaper imported gas has acquired a greater urgency than ever before. In order to fulfill energy requirements, countries like Pakistan, India, Iran and China have leaned their thrust even to develop civilian nuclear technology to meet the needs of ever expanding economies. Nowadays, we are totally dependent on an abundant and uninterrupted supply of energy for living and working. It is a key ingredient in all sectors of modern economies. It is high time that we must secure our future in the growing state of depleting energy resources.
As the new energy world order dawned with momentum in Asia, several key benchmarks have been achieved on aspired projects of IPI (India-Pakistan-Iran) and TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) gas pipelines. These pipelines can be more appropriately called as "life lines" to the industry and economies of Asian subcontinent and beyond. Countries involved in both either IPI or TAPI had serious reservations involved, which had descended them to remain reluctant in pursuing the projects. We are still in the state of wilderness as yet the projects, which have actually set foot in early 90s or later failed to materialize as yet. Both projects got badly snagged in international and regional politics. But latest signing of "Government Framework Agreement" in Islamabad to initiate TAPI project, readmission of India in IPI, workable agreement between Pakistan and India on transit fee, recent agreement on IPI to draft the final phase of the project and finally signing an accord, depicts active assertion of the stakeholders to remove the impediments on the way.
Both projects (IPI) and (TAPI) would provide the gas to the Asian developing countries including Pakistan, India, China and beyond the region. These states have limited oil/liquid reserves to meet their demands. With rocketing prices and limited supply of oil, signifies the option of gas which is cheaper, cleaner and plentiful, and in an increasingly environmentally conscious world, developed countries see this as an attractive alternative to oil and mineral fuels. Hence, oil-producing states of Persian Gulf are striving to develop their gas supplies to supplement their dwindling oil reserves. While the landlocked El Dorados of Central Asia offer the energy hungry burgeoning economies to invest and evolve effective methods to transfer the resources. These states have abundance of proven and unproven gas and oil reserves anticipating to be explored. It is quite mandatory for the states to develop the national strategies for robust exploration of not only indigenous resources but require enhancing by trans-national energy options to meet the constraints.