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, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimukhammedov, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari 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. After years of developing domestic fields and seeking to diversify its exports, Turkmenistan has taken a leading role in pushing the project forward.