Iran, Pakistan to Press Forward with Natural Gas Pipeline

Iran's Ambassador to Pakistan Mashallah Shakeri told an Iranian news agency that his nation has already prepared the necessary infrastructure to begin natural gas exports to Pakistan, adding that Tehran is currently waiting for Pakistan side to complete the necessary similar infrastructure for importing 110 million cubic meters of per day of Iranian natural gas.

During the interview Shakeri commented that "Pakistan, too, has done good work. Iran should start supplying gas to Pakistan by 2014 and the Pakistani side is committed to receive it on time. We only need 125 miles of pipeline to reach the Pakistani border and we will be ready for export whenever Pakistan states its preparedness," Iran’s Fars news agency reported.

The throughput for the Iran-Pakistan natural gas pipeline, expected to cost $7.4 billion, will be supplied from Iran’s offshore Persian Gulf South Pars field with an initial capacity of 22 billion cubic meters of natural gas per annum, which is expected to be later raised to 55 billion cubic meters.
 
Iran achieved a major breakthrough on 20 March 2009 on the proposed pipeline when Pakistan’s government approved Iran's proposed pricing formula for natural gas exports to the South Asian nation.

By. Charles Kennedy, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com