Bulgheroni obtained, in 1992, some of the first gas exploration concessions granted in Turkmenistan to a foreign energy company. He was further involved during 1997 in negotiations between Bridas and the ruling Taliban faction in Afghanistan to build the Trans-Afghanistan Gas Pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan. These negotiations were in competition with those undertaken by Unocal, and although an agreement with Unocal-led corporation CentGas was reached, the deal was forfeited in January 1998 in favor of one with Bridas. Instability in Afghanistan delayed construction of the pipeline, however, and following the United States Invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, the Bridas contract was rescinded in favor of the former one with Unocal. In 2006, Bulgheroni indicated interest in Bridas' involvement with the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline project, which continued to be hampered by the ongoing chaos in the Central Asian nation.