Abstract
Pakistan is working on two pipeline projects, namely, Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipelines, to meet its energy supply-demand gap. This study's aims to compare these two projects and identify the most suitable option for Pakistan. Furthermore, as the TAPI project is progressing faster than the IPI project, this study also aims to identify the critical activities associated with TAPI projects. Finally, a model is proposed to optimize the material and transportation costs related to the TAPI project. The study's contribution by using fuzzy set theory-based multi-criteria decision-making (Fuzzy MCDM) to compare two projects along with usage of the Fuzzy Critical Path Method (FCPM) for the identification of critical activities associated with the TAPI project. Finally, the Genetic Algorithm is applied to optimize the material and transportation costs of the TAPI project. The results show that IPI has advantages over TAPI in terms of power generation, transportation cost, transits fee, and gas prices. The critical path analysis of the TAPI gas pipeline shows that it will take approximately 75 to 330.5 weeks to complete. The study is useful for the managers who have to work in these projects, the policymakers considering these projects at various levels, and the researcher having an interest in applying Fuzzy set theory with MCDM, CPM, and in the context of the energy infrastructure.
Highlights
Pakistan is confronted with increasing energy demand and the energy demandsupply gap (Ali, et al, 2020a)
The result section is divided into three sub-section. These sections represent the results of Fuzzy TOPSIS, Fuzzy Critical Path method and the Genetic Algorithm, respectively
As Pakistan's energy demand is on the rise and there is a considerable supply-demand gap, these projects are essential for Pakistan's future energy needs
Summary
Pakistan is confronted with increasing energy demand and the energy demandsupply gap (Ali, et al, 2020a). Pakistan has been producing oil and gas locally, it is insufficient to meet its energy demand (MoF, 2020). To meet its growing energy demand, Pakistan has been exploring multiple options. These options include an increase in local exploration of energy sources and identifying and connecting to importing energy resources from other countries. In this regard, there has been a discussion on projects like the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline that was planned to connect these three countries for gas supply from Iran. The alternative to the IPI pipeline project that is proposed, debated, and supported by the stakeholders is Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. The IPI pipeline project is not progressing significantly compared to the TAPI pipeline project
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