Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline

Also called: IPI pipeline, Peace pipeline · Topic: World Transport and Communication · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 7 "Transport and Communication"

Meaning

The Iran–Pakistan–India (IPI) pipeline, also called the Peace pipeline, is a planned pipeline that would carry natural gas from Iran's South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf, through Pakistan, to India. NCERT says it "would be the longest in the world".

It matters because it shows how a pipeline is about politics as well as geography. India left the talks around 2009 over security and gas pricing, and Pakistan's section is still unbuilt. India's overland gas plans have stalled, so India depends on gas brought by sea.

Explanation

How a gas pipeline like IPI is meant to work

• Pipeline transport moves fluids through closed pipes in an uninterrupted (steady, non-stop) flow.
• The chain for IPI:
• gas is taken out at the South Pars field (Iran);
• it flows through pipes across Pakistan;

• it reaches buyers in India.

• Why a pipeline and not ships:

• running costs are low once the pipe is laid;
• there are no traffic jams and little gas is lost on the way;
• weather does not stop the flow.

Why the project stalled

• Security:
• The pipe would cross unstable parts of Pakistan, including Balochistan (Pakistan's south-western province, next to Iran).

• A fixed pipe in an unsafe area can be attacked or cut off.

• Gas pricing:

• The countries could not agree on the price India would pay for the gas.

• Result:

• India left the talks around 2009.
• Pakistan's section is still unbuilt. The project's status keeps changing, so check the latest news.

The built-in weakness of pipelines

• Fixed route: once the pipe is laid, its path cannot change. A buyer is tied to every country the pipe crosses.
• High starting cost: laying a long pipe needs huge money before any gas flows.
• Open to sabotage and politics: a transit country can block the flow to put pressure on the buyer.

• Nord Stream (Russia to Germany, under the Baltic Sea) was damaged by sabotage in 2022, during the Russia–Ukraine war.

• For India, the pipe would pass through Pakistan, a country it has long had tense relations with. This was the main fear.

Where it occurs

• Source: the South Pars gas field, Iran, in the Persian Gulf.
• Transit: Pakistan, including the unstable province of Balochistan.
• Destination: India (now out of the project).
• Other planned overland gas routes to India:

• TAPI (Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India): from the Galkynysh field via Herat, Kandahar and Multan to Fazilka (Punjab), about 1,800 km. It was launched in December 2015 [3] and is now stalled by insecurity, mainly in Afghanistan.

• Gas pipelines in the region that do work:

• Central Asia–China gas pipeline (working since 2009): Turkmenistan → Uzbekistan → Kazakhstan → China.
• India–Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (opened 18 March 2023): carries High Speed Diesel about 130 km, from Siliguri (West Bengal) to Parbatipur (Bangladesh) [2].

Don't confuse with

• TAPI pipeline: it starts at Turkmenistan's Galkynysh field and passes through Afghanistan. IPI starts at Iran's South Pars field and does not touch Afghanistan.
• Central Asia–China gas pipeline: it is working (since 2009) and carries Turkmen gas to China. IPI is still only proposed.
• India–Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline: it is built (2023) and carries High Speed Diesel, not natural gas [2].
• Big Inch pipeline: a US petroleum pipeline (1942–43) from Texas / the Gulf of Mexico to the north-eastern USA. It has nothing to do with Iran's gas.

Prelims Hooks

• IPI starts at Iran's South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf. TAPI starts at Turkmenistan's Galkynysh field. Do not swap them.
• The other name for the IPI pipeline is the Peace pipeline.
• NCERT says the IPI pipeline "would be the longest in the world".
• India left the IPI talks around 2009 because of security (Balochistan) and gas pricing.
• Trap: IPI passes through Pakistan only. It does not pass through Afghanistan. Only TAPI crosses Afghanistan.
• IPI and TAPI are both stalled. India's only working cross-border energy pipeline with Bangladesh is the Friendship Pipeline, which carries diesel [2].

Mains Points

• Pipeline geopolitics (GS-II/III):
• A pipeline ties a supplier, the transit countries and a buyer together for decades.
• IPI stalled over insecurity in Pakistan (Balochistan) and disputes over price. TAPI stalled over insecurity in Afghanistan.

• This shows that geography alone cannot carry a pipeline. Trust between countries is also needed.

• India's response for energy security (GS-III):

• With overland gas routes blocked, India relies on LNG imports by sea.
• It is also building a domestic National Gas Grid: 25,429 km was working by June 2025 [4].

• Small, safe cross-border pipelines such as the India–Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (2023) build goodwill in the region [2].

• Merits and limits of pipeline transport (GS-I):

• Pipelines have low running costs and a steady flow that weather does not stop.
• But they need a high starting investment and cannot change route. They are also open to sabotage, as Nord Stream (2022) showed. IPI's route through an unstable transit country shows these risks clearly.

Related concepts

• Air transport
• Inter-continental air routes
• Big Inch pipeline
• Central Asia-China gas pipeline
• TAPI pipeline

Read more

• Air transport and pipelines