Pakistan, India plan gas talks on 23rd

NEW DELHI—Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora will hold negotiations with Pakistan on Iran-Pakistan-India Pipeline project on April 25 in Islamabad to sort out differences on transit fee and other issues.
Murli Deora and his Secretary Petroleum M S Srinivasan will travel to Pakistan to attend a Steering Committee meeting of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan- Pakistan gas pipeline on April 23 -24 called by project sponsor Asian Development Bank for formal induction of New Delhi in the project and signing of heads of agreements.
Talking to mediapersons here on Monday on the sidelines of the 5th Asia Gas Partnership Summit, the Minister said he would hold talks on the IPI project with his Pakistani counterpart on April 25.
India has been boycotting trilateral talks on the project since mid-2007 by taking the plea that it first wants to resolve the issue of transit fee with Pakistan. But official sources here and the media reports suggest that India has adopted this stance due to pressure from the United States to stay away from the project.
During the last trilateral meeting held in New Delhi last year, Pakistan and India had narrowed down differences on transportation tariff with regard to the project. Meanwhile, President Pervez Musharraf said on Monday in Beijing that the US$ 7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project could be transformed into an Iran-Pakistan-China (IPC) gas pipeline project to overcome the energy shortage of two countries and meet their growing industrial needs.
When asked by a student at Tsinghua University about chances of China joining the gas pipeline project, President Musharraf said a feasibility report had already been prepared in this regard, and it makes the project viable.
“But) why this can’t be IPC (Iran-Pakistan-China) pipeline” the president said in terms of the possibility of the project.
He said the gas pipeline from Pakistan’s south to the Khunjerab Pass linking the two countries would be raised till it crosses the pass at 15,000 feet, thereafter more than half of the length would be in desent.
India was optimist that it would be able to resolve technical and price differences with Pakistan to get trans-national Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline on track soon, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said Monday.
Speaking after inaugurating Asia Gas Partnership Summit, Deora said he will visit Pakistan next week to discuss IPI pipeline. ``We have two-three small differences on transit fees. But I am very optimist we can sort out problems.’’
He said he would meet his Pakistani counterpart on April 23. ``I had been getting invitations from the minister on when I would go to Islamabad, but I could not go there while elections were there or after tragic events (Benazir Bhutto’s assassination),’’ he added.
Before Deoro’s visit, a technical team will leave for Islamabad Tuesday to hold talks April 16-18. India asked transit fees be pegged at five percent of price of delivered gas, while Pakistan arguing to double that figure. The transportation tariff demanded by Pakistan is $1.57 per million British thermal unit of gas supply, while India is looking for much lower figure of about $0.69 to $0.70.
Iran was supposed to supply 150 million cubic metres (mcm) of gasper day through pipeline, with India getting 90 mcm and Pakistan 60.Now, Iran has revised supply in first phase to 60 mcm, which would beshared equally between two South Asian neighbours. Deora said he would also discuss TAPI (Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan India) pipeline in Islamabad, which is still at preliminary stage.

—Agencies