India and Pakistan have rejected the gas import price worked out by a consultant appointed by Iran as part of the over $7 billion tri-nation pipeline project.
"The price worked out by the consultant, which was based on certain parameters given by Iran, was not acceptable to India and Pakistan. The consultant has been given revised parameters to work out the gas pricing," Oil Minister Murli Deora said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.
Iran had appointed Gaffney Cline and Associates to work out a price formula for the gas Iran wants to sell to the two South Asian neighbours.
While Deora did not elaborate, sources said the Iranian side had asked the consultant to work out the gas price with future LNG contracts as reference point.
New Delhi had, however, wanted the reference to be fixed at the LNG contracts entered into during the past few years.
"Since the basis of arriving at the formula was not acceptable, we did not go into the GCA's suggestion," an official said.
Tehran had at the last trilateral meeting in New Delhi on August 3-4 wanted a price equivalent to 10 per cent of ruling Brent crude oil price, plus a fixed cost of $1.2 per million British thermal unit.
At $60 per barrel, the average Brent price during recent times, this translated into a price of $7.2 dollars per mBtu at Iran-Pakistan border. Added to this would be the cost of transporting the gas through Pakistan.
New Delhi, however, was willing to pay no more than $4.25 per mBtu for gas delivered through the 2,100-km line at its border, sources said.
