Pakistan underlines necessity of IP gas pipeline

Islamabad is determined to continue the implementation of the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project, Pakistani Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said. Abbasi said that Iran-Pakistan gas project would be completed in the stipulated time. He informed the National Assembly, or Lower House of the parliament, that, otherwise, Pakistan is bound to purchase Gas from Iran by January 1, 2015. He said despite a number of hurdles, the government is committed to complete the gas pipeline project within the stimulated period. Abbasi said the government is working on a number of projects to overcome the oil and gas shortage in the country, adding that the programs include enhancement of indigenous gas production‚ import of gas from Iran and Turkmenistan‚ import of LNG from Qatar and promotion of LPG air mix. He added that Pakistan has entered gas sales purchase agreement with Iran and Turkmenistan and the work for completion of the projects is underway. Iran and Pakistan officially inaugurated the construction phase of a gas pipeline project in March which is due to take Iran's rich gas reserves to the energy-hungry South Asian nation. The project kicked off in a ceremony attended by former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his former Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari at the two countries' shared border region in Iran's Southeastern city of Chabahar. The 2700-kilometer long pipeline was to supply gas for Pakistan and India which are suffering a lack of energy sources, but India has evaded talks. In 2011, Iran and Pakistan declared they would finalize the agreement bilaterally if India continued to be absent in the meeting. Iran has already constructed more than 900 kilometers of the pipeline on its soil. According to the project proposal, the pipeline will begin from Iran's Assalouyeh Energy Zone in the south and stretch over 1,100 km through Iran. In Pakistan, it will pass through Baluchistan and Sindh but officials now say the route may be changed if China agrees to the project.