Pak, India clinch deal on IPI gas project
By Saad Saud

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan and India on Friday agreed on the principles about structure of the pipeline company to execute and manage the project, transportation tariff and transit fee of Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project.
Petroleum Ministers of Pakistan and India, Khawja Muhammad Asif and Shri Murali Deora told media at a joint press conference here. “It needs a few weeks to sign the as there was complete consensus on the fundamental issues of the project,” Khawaja Asif said. The people of Pakistan and India will usher in a new economic era after completion of the project which very important for both the neighbourly countries, he added.
Khawaja Asif said the project has rightly been named peace pipeline adding, it will not only meet gas requirements but also strengthen economic ties of the two countries and add new dimensions in Pakistan-India relations. Indian Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Murli Deora said, the project is commercially viable and hoped an uninterrupted supply after its completion. “We have agreed to consult with our respective government for an early conclusion of the agreement on the above issue,” he added.
Deora acknowledged that this project is of immense economic and strategic value, for both countries and will go a long way in improving the quality of life of the people of the two countries.
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. Under the IPI gas pipeline project, Iran plans to begin export of gas to Pakistan by the end of 2013. The gas pipeline project is being developed to bring gas from the Iranian South Pars Gas Field through land route to Pakistan and India. A Term Sheet was signed between Iran and Pakistan in 2005 for supply of two billion cubic feet per day of natural gas for a period of 30 years.
An agreement on gas pricing formula had already been reached in January this year. The pipeline will be 1,420 mm in diameter with a capacity of 33 billion cubic metre (bcm) of natural gas annually. The cost of the project is estimated at 7.5 billion dollars.
Petroleum Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said Iran, Pakistan, India (IPI) gas pipeline project has no relevance with US pressure adding no pressure whatsoever will be accepted from any side on this count He said this while addressing a press conference along with Indian petroleum minister Murli Deora here Friday after ministerial meeting.
He announced IPI gas pipeline project had been initiated in accordance with our requirements adding national interest could not be overlooked at any cost. Pakistan and India had agreed on all important matters of IPI gas pipeline project including feasibility, transportation and transit fee, he told. The agreement in this regard will be signed within next two weeks, he indicated.
This project will not only help meet the requirements of both the countries but will also help people of two countries enter new era of economic development, he underlined. This project is also very vital in the stabilization of economic and strategic relations between Pakistan and India, he added.