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Pakistan convinces US on IPI project

* Pakistan and Iran to sign GSPA next week
* Country to save $1bn in terms of energy
* India’s participation to affect pipeline’s diameter

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has convinced the United States on the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project as Pakistan and Iran will sign the Gas Sales Purchase Agreement (GSPA) next week, according to an official.

The officials told Daily Times on Monday that Pakistan had convinced the US over the fact that Pakistan’s energy demand was increasing and the country was having an energy crisis.

$1 billion: He said Pakistan had argued before the US that many other countries were purchasing gas from Iran, and the $7 billion IPI project was essential for Pakistan to save around $1 billion in terms of energy. He said India had also been told that Pakistan needed energy to maintain the increase in its gross domestic product (GDP).

He said Pakistan’s reliance on the import of crude oil would decrease after the materialisation of the IPI project. Separately, Petroleum Minister Ahsanullah, Petroleum Secretary Farrukh Qayyum and Additional Secretary Haytullah Durrani told a news conference that Pakistan and Iran would sign the GSPA next week.

The minister said that Pakistan would welcome India whenever it would join the IPI project, adding that India’s position on the project would be cleared by the end of January.

He said the IPI project was feasible according to the Pakistani market and that 2.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas would be imported from Iran, out of which Pakistani share would be 1.05 billion cubic feet. He said if India did not join the project then the whole imported gas would be consumed in Pakistan. Petroleum Secretary Farrukh said that the price of Iranian gas would be linked with the Japan Crude Oil Cocktail.

Diametre: He said if India became a party then a 56-inch diametre pipeline would be laid, otherwise it would be of 36-inch diameter. About the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) gas pipeline project, the secretary said seven rounds of negotiations had been held over it in the past, and Pakistan was in contact with Turkmenistan. He said Turkmenistan would give a new date for negotiations on the TAP gas pipeline project by the end of January. zafar bhutta

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