Iran, Pakistan finalise multi-billion dollar gas pipeline contract
Monday, 12 November 2007
Dubai, Nov 11 (PTI): Iran and Pakistan yesterday finalised the text of USD 7.4 billion gas pipeline project contract in Tehran without the participation of India, which is the third partner in the project.
Pakistan and Iran have agreed to revise the pricing formula of the gas pipeline project in 2015, paving the way to seal what is being described as a landmark deal, the official Iranian news agency said yesterday.
The two parties also reached an agreement on those sentences the legal advisors had already split, it said.
Iranian oil minister's special envoy for peace pipeline talks Hojjatollah Ghanimifard said the text of the gas contract was finalised and the two parties reached an agreement on all cases the legal experts had outlined.
The technical points would be studied by the two sides' engineering groups according to a timetable, paving the way for signing of the contract by the two states' heads and contracting companies, he said.
Pakistan's Secretary of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Farrukh Qayyum said Islamabad gave first priority to import gas from Iran, adding Islamabad "preferred to meet its gas need through Iran and would study other options in next stages."
Given the growth of domestic economy and the development of local industries, the demand for gas has considerably risen in Pakistan during the recent years," he told reporters, adding the Pakistani government would study gas imports from Qatar and Turkmenistan after it finalised the peace pipeline with Iran.
A high-powered Pakistani delegation, headed by Qayyum, visited Tehran on Tuesday after getting authorisation from the government to seal the gas sales purchase agreement (GSPA) with the Iranian authorities.
Earlier, Pakistan had reservations on the issue of reviewing the pricing formula as the mechanism was linked with the prices of Japan crude cocktail.
Islamabad and Tehran will review the gas pricing in 2015, keeping in view the data of 60 months ranging from 2002 to 2007.
The official said that in case the crude oil price in Japan market stands at USD 90 per barrel, then the price of gas to be imported from Iran would stand at USD eight per mmbtu.
Under the earlier proposed USD 7.3 billion Iran-Pakistan- India (IPI) trans-national project, Islamabad was to import 3.15 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day from Iran (1.05 bcf per day under Phase I and 2.1 bcf under Phase II), while India was to import 1.05 bcf per day in Phase I and 3.20 bcf in Phase-II.
Pakistan and Iran have agreed to revise the pricing formula of the gas pipeline project in 2015, paving the way to seal what is being described as a landmark deal, the official Iranian news agency said yesterday.
The two parties also reached an agreement on those sentences the legal advisors had already split, it said.
Iranian oil minister's special envoy for peace pipeline talks Hojjatollah Ghanimifard said the text of the gas contract was finalised and the two parties reached an agreement on all cases the legal experts had outlined.
The technical points would be studied by the two sides' engineering groups according to a timetable, paving the way for signing of the contract by the two states' heads and contracting companies, he said.
Pakistan's Secretary of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Farrukh Qayyum said Islamabad gave first priority to import gas from Iran, adding Islamabad "preferred to meet its gas need through Iran and would study other options in next stages."
Given the growth of domestic economy and the development of local industries, the demand for gas has considerably risen in Pakistan during the recent years," he told reporters, adding the Pakistani government would study gas imports from Qatar and Turkmenistan after it finalised the peace pipeline with Iran.
A high-powered Pakistani delegation, headed by Qayyum, visited Tehran on Tuesday after getting authorisation from the government to seal the gas sales purchase agreement (GSPA) with the Iranian authorities.
Earlier, Pakistan had reservations on the issue of reviewing the pricing formula as the mechanism was linked with the prices of Japan crude cocktail.
Islamabad and Tehran will review the gas pricing in 2015, keeping in view the data of 60 months ranging from 2002 to 2007.
The official said that in case the crude oil price in Japan market stands at USD 90 per barrel, then the price of gas to be imported from Iran would stand at USD eight per mmbtu.
Under the earlier proposed USD 7.3 billion Iran-Pakistan- India (IPI) trans-national project, Islamabad was to import 3.15 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day from Iran (1.05 bcf per day under Phase I and 2.1 bcf under Phase II), while India was to import 1.05 bcf per day in Phase I and 3.20 bcf in Phase-II.