Turkmenistan has some of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, but as a landlocked country it has struggled to transport its reserves to market. Now, however, Turkmen leaders are hoping a new pipeline will expand the country's export options . On Dec. 13, leaders from Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India met in Turkmenistan to break ground on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline. More than 25 years in the making, 1,800 kilometers (about 1,100 miles) long and costing an estimated $10 billion, the pipeline is scheduled to begin operations in late 2019 and will have a capacity of 33 billion cubic meters per year. Even with the substantial amount of funding that has already been committed, the single most important factor during the development and construction phase of the project will be the security situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.