Iran To Increase Gas Exports To Pakistan

Iran's deputy oil minister and managing director of National Iranian Gas Company, Javad Owji, said that new round of talks between Iran and Pakistan on gas cooperation was held on 26 June.

Owji said: "If an agreement is finalized, the volume of Iranian gas exported to Pakistan will increase to 30m cubic meters per day." Iran's Oil Ministry Caretaker Mohammad Aliabadi and Pakistan's Energy and Natural Resources Minster Dr Asim Hussain led the talks, Mehr news agency reported.

Aliabadi  and Hussain signed the original agreement a year ago during a meeting between Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. This in turn built upon a major breakthrough on 20 March  2009 when the Pakistani government approved Iran's proposed pricing formula for gas supplies to the South Asian nation.
Under the terms of the agreement signed earlier by the two countries, Iran will provide Pakistan with 21.5 million cubic meters of gas every day and 7.8 billion cubic meters per year to Pakistan up to 2014. Owji added that a seventh pipeline, measuring 155 miles, is being constructed up to the Pakistani border, noting, "With the completion of the seventh pipeline and the ongoing development of different phases of South Pars field, it will be possible for Iran to supply Pakistan's gas needs for a long time."

By. Charles Kennedy, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com