07-20-2005, 04:43 AM
<b><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Pakistan opposes Indiaâs bid to buy gas directly from Iran</span></b>
<b>NEW DELHI: Pakistan has opposed Indiaâs plans to buy gas through the proposed $7.4 billion Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline directly from Iran, saying that Tehran cannot own the gas in Pakistani territory.
India wants Iran to own the gas till the delivery point at Rajasthan border in order to underwrite any losses that may occur due to disruptions in the pipeline, PTI said.
Pakistan made it clear at the 1st Joint Working Group meeting here on July 12-13 that the involvement of the National Iranian Gas Export Co (the gas exporting firm) in Pakistani territory would be âdifficultâ, a senior official said.</b>
At the meeting, India suggested a 2,135-kilometre route for the pipeline along the thickly populated coastal areas in Pakistan to minimise the risk of sabotage. It wanted the line to be laid by either NIGEC or a consortium of Iranian, Pakistani, Indian and international companies.
But it wanted NIGEC to own the gas throughout the 890-kilometre pipeline stretch in Pakistan from Gwadar on Iran-Pak border to Umarkot - and deliver it directly at the Barmer district border in Rajasthan. New Delhi said that it wanted its obligations to remain with NIGEC alone.
The official said that Pakistan wanted India and Pakistan to buy gas from NIGEC in Iran and use the pipeline, which will be owned and operated by NIGEC and international, Indian and Pakistani firms.
Alternatively, the pipeline consortium can purchase gas from NIGEC at Assaluyah, the landfall point of gas from South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf, and sell it to India and Pakistan at their delivery points.
New Delhi, the official said, wants the point from where Pakistan is to draw its share of some 60 million standard cubic metres per day (mscmd) of Iranian gas, to be closer to the India-Pakistan border.
âIndia has kept the option of joining the pipeline construction consortium open, but it wants the delivery of (90 mscmd of) gas at its border,â he said.
<b>New Delhi wants NIGEC to enter into a back-to-back agreement with Pakistan for the safe transit of gas through its territory and its delivery to India at the Indo-Pak border.</b> For the construction and operation of the pipeline, India suggested three options âby NIGEC alone, by a consortium comprising of NIGEC, GAIL India, Indian Oil Corp and Sui Gas of Pakistan, or by NIGEC and any other international company. Nni
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>NEW DELHI: Pakistan has opposed Indiaâs plans to buy gas through the proposed $7.4 billion Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline directly from Iran, saying that Tehran cannot own the gas in Pakistani territory.
India wants Iran to own the gas till the delivery point at Rajasthan border in order to underwrite any losses that may occur due to disruptions in the pipeline, PTI said.
Pakistan made it clear at the 1st Joint Working Group meeting here on July 12-13 that the involvement of the National Iranian Gas Export Co (the gas exporting firm) in Pakistani territory would be âdifficultâ, a senior official said.</b>
At the meeting, India suggested a 2,135-kilometre route for the pipeline along the thickly populated coastal areas in Pakistan to minimise the risk of sabotage. It wanted the line to be laid by either NIGEC or a consortium of Iranian, Pakistani, Indian and international companies.
But it wanted NIGEC to own the gas throughout the 890-kilometre pipeline stretch in Pakistan from Gwadar on Iran-Pak border to Umarkot - and deliver it directly at the Barmer district border in Rajasthan. New Delhi said that it wanted its obligations to remain with NIGEC alone.
The official said that Pakistan wanted India and Pakistan to buy gas from NIGEC in Iran and use the pipeline, which will be owned and operated by NIGEC and international, Indian and Pakistani firms.
Alternatively, the pipeline consortium can purchase gas from NIGEC at Assaluyah, the landfall point of gas from South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf, and sell it to India and Pakistan at their delivery points.
New Delhi, the official said, wants the point from where Pakistan is to draw its share of some 60 million standard cubic metres per day (mscmd) of Iranian gas, to be closer to the India-Pakistan border.
âIndia has kept the option of joining the pipeline construction consortium open, but it wants the delivery of (90 mscmd of) gas at its border,â he said.
<b>New Delhi wants NIGEC to enter into a back-to-back agreement with Pakistan for the safe transit of gas through its territory and its delivery to India at the Indo-Pak border.</b> For the construction and operation of the pipeline, India suggested three options âby NIGEC alone, by a consortium comprising of NIGEC, GAIL India, Indian Oil Corp and Sui Gas of Pakistan, or by NIGEC and any other international company. Nni
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->