Pakistan hints at completion of Iran Pakistan Gas Pipeline
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ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Minister for Petroleum Ghulam Sarwar Khan has said that his country is willing to complete Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project.
While responding to a question posed by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) at a press conference here, the minister said that Pakistan will implement the project.
He told IRNA that he has an invitation from his Iranian counterpart to visit Iran and he is interested to visit the Islamic Republic, however, the program has not been finalized yet.
Sarwar Khan on the occasion announced that ExxonMobil an American multinational oil and gas corporation would start a 1,900-meter deep offshore drilling, some 230 kilometers away from Karachi, in January next year (2019). He said that a drilling rig was on its way from Mozambique in this regard.
He said that the government was working on three gas pipelines which included Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI), IP and Russian offshore gas pipeline, adding that work on TAPI pipeline was on an advanced stage.
The minister added that the US has imposed new sanctions on Iran, however, 'we will take decision keeping in view our interest'.
He said that recently an Iranian technical team has visited Pakistan to discuss IP project. He said that Pakistan is willing to complete the gas pipeline as it needs energy.
Sarwar Khan expressing his views said that LNG contract signed by the previous Pakistani government and Qatar needs to be re-negotiated to ensure transparency.
