Pak, Iran review progress on IPI gas project
By Asim Hussain

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan and Iran have expressed satisfaction over the pace of progress on IPI gas pipeline project and reiterated the desire of their leaderships for its early implementation for the benefit entire region.
The ambassador of Iran Mashallah Shakeri called on the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Ahsanullah Khan here on Wednesday and discussed with him matters pertaining to promoting bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector.
During the meeting both sides expressed satisfaction over the pace of progress on IPI gas pipeline project and reiterated the desire of their leaderships for its early implementation for the benefit entire region.
The Minister said that the government was taking concrete steps for exploiting the untapped hydrocarbon resources spanning over 627,000 sq.kms sedimentary area in order to meet the speedy socio-economic growth in the country. He added that more onshore and off shore blocks would be opened for enhancing the oil and gas exploration activities in the country, which would provide enormous investment opportunities for the investors.
He maintained that there exists tremendous scope for promoting Pak-Iran ties in the oil, gas and mineral sectors and invited the Iranian companies to participate in the upcoming petroleum projects for leaning a lot from each others. Expressing his sentiments the Iranian Envoy said that IPI gas pipeline project would not only open up new avenues of cooperation among the member states but also help to bring the regional countries closer.
Secretary Petroleum Farrakh Qayyum and other officials were also present on the occasion. The Ambassador of Iran to Pakistan Mashallah Shakeri called on the caretaker Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Ahsanullah Khan here on Wednesday and discussed with him matters pertaining to promoting bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sectors. Both sides expressed satisfaction over the pace of progress on Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project and reiterated the desire of their leaderships for its early implementation for the benefit of the entire region.
The Minister said that the government was taking concrete steps for exploiting the untapped hydrocarbon resources spanning over 627,000 squire kilometers Sedimentary area in order to meet the speedy socio-economic growth in the country. He said that more onshore and offshore blocks would be opened for enhancing the oil and gas exploration activities in the country which would provide enormous investment opportunities for the investors.