Transit fee to top IPI gas talks, says Deora

NEW DELHI—Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said here on Tuesday the issue of transit fee will top the agenda during talks with Pakistan on Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project to be held on Friday. Pakistan and India had reached broad understanding on the transportation tariff payable to Pakistan last year during trilateral meeting in New Delhi. But issue of transit fee remained unresolved.
Media reports quoting an official said India expects some resolution of the issue during the talks. Murli Deora talking to reporters said he was going to Islamabad at the invitation of Asian Development Bank to attend the Steering Committee meeting of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) project. The talks scheduled for April 23-24 will see India joining the project.
Media reports suggest that US is encouraging India to import gas from Turkmenistan instead of Iran fearing the revenue to be earned by Iran will be used to promote its nuclear programme. Iran plans to begin export of gas to Pakistan by the end of 2013. According to details, the US-backed TAPI line will run from the Dauletabad gas field in Turkmenistan to Fazilka town of India through Afghanistan alongside the highway running from Herat to Kandahar, and then through Quetta and Multan in Pakistan. The pipeline will be 1,420 mm in diameter with a capacity of 33 billion cubic meter (bcm) of natural gas annually. The cost of project is estimated at 3.5 billion dollars.
Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora will leave here Tuesday evening for Pakistan to hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart on Iran- Pakistan - India Gas Pipeline Project. The Hindu quoting a senior official here said “It was only after China expressed interest in the IPI pipeline that India showed urgency for talks. India did not take part in three trilateral talks held during the last nine months without assigning any official reason. Deora had cancelled his visit to Islamabad in February this year at the last minute.”
Media reports suggest that the US pressure on India not to have commercial links with Iran was the reason for boycotting the trilateral meetings on the project. Murli Deora will also participate in wrap up talks on the Asian Development Bank backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline being held in Islamabad.
The talks will focus on sorting out the issue of transit fee to be levied by Pakistan for transporting gas from Iran to India through Pakistani territory while issue of transportation fee has already been resolved.—Agencies