India, June 14 -- India's latest effort to revive a deep-sea natural gas pipeline connecting Oman with Gujarat is being driven by growing concerns over energy security and the vulnerability of maritime routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Yet the proposal itself is far from new.

The idea of linking India directly to Gulf gas reserves through an undersea pipeline has existed for more than three decades. It has survived changes of government, shifts in global energy markets, advances in offshore engineering and repeated assessments of its commercial viability. Every time it has resurfaced, it has been presented as a potentially transformative project. Every time, however, it has ultimately stalled.

Now, amid heightened geopolitical tensio...