Latest News

Iran, Pakistan seek ways to total gas pipeline job

Iran and Pakistan are looking at methods to finish a longdelayed gas pipeline project between the 2 countries, Iran's Consul General to Pakistan, Hassan Nourian, stated on Monday.

We see political determination from Pakistan to complete the project, he told press reporters in the southern city of Karachi.

The nations signed a contract to construct the pipeline from Iran's South Fars gas field to Pakistan's Balochistan and Sindh provinces in 2010, however work on Pakistan's portion has actually been held up due to fears of U.S. sanctions.

The 1,900 kilometre (1,180 mile) pipeline was indicated to supply 750 million to one billion cubic feet per day of natural gas for 25 years to satisfy Pakistan's increasing energy needs.

Tehran says it has invested $2 billion to build the pipeline on its area. Pakistan, nevertheless, did not begin building and construction, pointing out international sanctions on Iran as the factor.

In 2014, Islamabad requested for a 10-year extension to develop the pipeline, which expires in September this year. Iran can take Pakistan to global court, market watchers have said.

Confronted with prospective legal action, Pakistan's caretaker administration this year provided the go ahead in principal to commence plans to develop an 80km sector of the pipeline.

In March, Islamabad stated it would look for a U.S. sanctions waiver for the pipeline. The U.S., nevertheless, said it did not support the project and cautioned about the threat of sanctions in doing business with Tehran.

Nourian on Monday said the pipeline did not come under worldwide constraints, which the two nations were talking about the concern.

He did not respond to a concern about the potential for Iran to take legal action against Pakistan if it did not finish its side of the pipeline this year.

Pakistan, whose domestic and industrial users count on natural gas for heating and energy needs, remains in alarming need for cheap gas with its own reserves diminishing quickly and LNG offers making products pricey in the middle of high inflation.

Iran has the world's second-largest gas reserves after Russia, according to BP's Analytical Evaluation of World Energy, however sanctions by the West, political chaos and construction delays have slowed its development as an exporter.