March 04 , 2016
News
Work on IP gas pipeline to start soon
APPISLAMABAD: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources is hopeful that work to lay the pipeline on Pakistani side for Iran-Pakistan gas project would start soon after lifting of international sanctions on Tehran.
“The ministry is hopeful that in the wake of removal of international sanctions on Iran, it will agree to Pakistan’s proposal to finalise a workable implementation schedule,” official sources in Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources said on Thursday. They said Pakistan was committed to the execution of the project and practical work was expected to start soon following clarity on the sanctions. Pakistan is working on a strategy to achieve successful completion of the project, they said, adding that international contractors and financiers were unable to initiate work on the project due to the sanctions.
They said Pakistan was continuously in touch with the government of Iran and counterpart Iranian gas company regarding development on the project and had also completed design of the project. Answering a question, they said Foreign Office was currently evaluating latest developments and the ministry was expecting its guidelines to move forward for execution of the project. They said the Iranian side had already been requested to revise the timelines for the completion of the project through amendment in the Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement (GSPA).
A draft of such amendment has been shared with Iran in early 2015. Pakistan side is awaiting agreement on the draft amendment in the GSPA to start work on the project, the sources said. The idea of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, floated in mid-1950s, remained under discussion for almost six decades leading to a positive response from Tehran in 2012 at the annual conference of the International Association of Energy Economics. Iran and Pakistan then agreed to embark upon the project and complete it by December 2014. But their plan suffered delay because of international sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear programme and pressure on Pakistan to abandon it.
In 1999, India expressed willingness to be part of the project, but withdrew in 2009 over pricing and security issues. However, Pakistan went ahead with preparatory work in consultation with Iran and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources completed a detailed route survey. The 56-inch diameter pipeline will initiate from South Pars gas field in Iran and end at Nawabshah covering a distance of around 1,931 kilometre with 1,150 km portion in Iran and 781 km in Pakistan.
The implementation was to be done on the basis of a segmented approach whereby each country will be responsible for construction of pipeline in the respective territory.
The 750mmcfd gas flow in the pipeline was projected to help generate around 4,000MW electricity and create jobs in the backward areas of Balochistan and Sindh. With the present government firmly resolved and making efforts to bring the project to fruition, the sources voiced high hopes that gas shortfall problem would be solved within the remaining period of the PML-N government. If all goes well, the project will start supplying gas in two years after initiation of the construction work.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk