Russia has supported the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, saying it would help ease risks to global energy security.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora met Iran's Deputy Minister for International Affairs H Noghrehkar Shirazi on the sidelines of the 12th International Energy Forum here to propose bilateral talks in May.
Pipeline will carry 90 mmscmd gas for 30 years; India, Pak to get 38 mmscmd each, 14 mmscmd to go to Afghanistan
Pakistan's pipeline density, at present is 1044 km/mmscmd (million metric standard cubic meter per day) per day compared to 116 km/mmscmd of India, Assocham said in its paper on gas sector 'A Comparison between India and Pakistan'. The neighbouring country has created a 31,000 km distribution network to serve its domestic and commercial consumers in large locations, against the 11,000 km network that have so far been built in India to serve the needs of its consumers.
India is keen to partner the proposed multi-billion Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project and has promised to resist "all external pressures on the issue", Iranian oil minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said.India's petroleum minister Murli Deora is set to arrive in Pakistan on April 21 to hold talks on transit fee to be paid to Islamabad on the $7 billion IPI project.
Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Tuesday denied any differences within the government on the $4.16-billion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline and said New Delhi was going ahead with the project as scheduled.
Pakistan on Monday said that it was ready to provide international guarantees afresh to India to lay the gas pipeline from Iran to Gujarat via its territory provided there were no "extraneous conditionalities" attached to it.
Pakistan has said it is eager to transfer Iranain gas to India and China after it finalised the text of a multi-billion IPI gas pipeline project with Tehran. Mokhtar Ahmad, advisor to Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, made the remarks after the three-day Iran-Pakistan talks on the $7.4 billion pipeline project, which resulted in finalisation of the text over the weekend in the absence of India, which is the third partner.
The multi-million-dollar Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project is unlikely to be completed by the contractual deadline of December 2014 because of the political transition in Islamabad, officials have said.
The toll in the deadly blast and fire, apparently caused by leakage from a Gas Authority of India Limited gas pipeline, on Saturday rose to 17, even as Andhra Pradesh police registered a case of negligence against the state-run firm.
Pakistan and Iran have finalised a gas purchase agreement while India is yet to complete modalities for joining the project mainly due to differences with Pakistan over the transit fee to be paid for the gas transported through Pakistani territory. Iran had been asked by Pakistan earlier this month to finalise the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project by April because of its rising gas requirements. Iran said it was holding final talks with India to persuade it to join.
India is likely to sign a $145 billion deal by June to import natural gas from Iran through the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline after Tehran lowered the sale price by 30 per cent.
The exit of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) from the Hyderabad Metro is a long-term positive for the stock. It could be a bullish trigger, alongside higher international orders, and new opportunities in segments like defence and data centres.
Hours after Pakistan and Iran inaugurated the much-delayed section of a $7.5 billion gas pipeline, the United States has expressed 'serious concerns' and warned Islamabad that if it went ahead with the project, it would face sanctions.
The India-Pakistan-Iran talks in Tehran, which began on September 24, was not attended by India, who said it will not attend the tri-nation meetings unless transit fee issue is resolved with Islamabad.
The competition between the two main players vying to lay cross-country natural gas pipelines has undergone a volte-face.
With two more persons succumbing to their burn injuries on Sunday, the toll in Friday's deadly fire-blast, apparently caused by leakage from a GAIL gas pipeline in Nagaram, Andhra Pradesh, rose to 19 even as the condition of at least three others remains critical, police said.
The two-day ministerial meeting of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan to formally invite Indian participation in the transnational pipeline project originating from Dauletabad fields in Turkmenistan was cancelled.
The working group of India, Iran and Pakistan will meet in Islamabad from May 22 to May 24 to further work out modalities for Indo-Iran gas pipeline project.
In May 1992, ONGC handed over gas pipelines and marketing functions connected with natural gas to GAIL. However, it continues to be the marketing agency in certain isolated pockets.
Pakistan, India and Iran are likely to meet in March next year to carry forward the negotiations on the tri-nation gas pipeline, even as the issue of gas pricing remains to be addressed.
Projects worth over $20 billion, ranging from the decade-long Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline to various oil and gas exploration and production projects, are being re-considered, said officials in the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
The north-eastern states are keen to have a proposed gas pipeline from Myanmar routed through the region as they believe the project could bring about a development windfall.
Re-instatement of 5% custom duty on crude imports will help.
The United States on Wednesday warned Pakistan of "damaging consequences" if it went ahead with the ambitious Iran-Pak gas pipeline, which would be against the global sanctions against Iran.
Petroleum minister Murli Deora discussed the idea of levy of $0.20 per million British thermal unit as cess on natural gas to mop up Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion) annually for laying down the gas pipeline network with CEOs of state-run firms. The brainstorming session called to chalk out the 100-day plan for the new government also decided on launching a new Scheme of Rural LPG Distributor (Gramin LPG Vitrak), petroleum secretary R S Pandey said.
The world's third largest oil firm Royal Dutch/Shell has objected to state-run Gail India Ltd being made the sole agency to build the Rs 20,000 crore
A group of ministers will meet on Wednesday to discuss the revision of natural gas prices after a gap of four years and consider change in the country's main trunk gas pipeline HBJ's transportation tariff.
No power in the world can halt the $7.5 billion Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, President Asif Ali Zardari has said, dismissing mounting US opposition to the venture that will be formally inaugurated on March 11.
The move apparently has been triggered by the drastic fall in international crude oil prices which have dived from $147 a barrel in August 2008 to below $40 now. In the old formula, taking crude price at $60 per barrel, the cost of gas at Iran-Pakistan border translated into $4.93 per mBtu. But according to the new formula, gas price will shoot up to $5.9 per mBtu although crude prices have crashed below $40 a barrel.
Pakistan's demand for gas stands at 8 billion cubic feet while the current production is 4 billion cubic feet.
The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday ordered an inquiry into the Gas Authority of India Limited pipeline blast at Nagaram village in East Godavari district, in which 14 persons were killed.
A number of persons fainted after experiencing 'burning sensation' in their throat and chest. Many people who were asleep woke up in panic and scurried out of their homes and alerted neighbours and all of them soon reached the main roads unsure of what to do.
