ISLAMABAD – Petroleum and Natural Resources Division has planned to reviewimplementation on Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project with its Iraniancounterpart aims at finalizing all outstanding issues, especially in thewake of international sanction on the commodity supplier.

“In the next fiscal year, the Division will review the implementation on IPproject in consultation with the Iranian counterpart to discuss andfinalize all outstanding issues including amendments in the Gas SalePurchase Agreement (GSPA) for preparing revised implementation frameworkfor completion of the project,” official sources told APP.

They said the petroleum division was planning to negotiate amendment in theGSPA with Iran to execute the much-delayed gas pipeline project.

“Pakistan is committed to execution of the project. Due to internationalsanctions on Iran, Pakistan issued Force Majeure notice to Iran in March2014 and proposed amendment in the GSPA enabling the parties to completetheir respective sections of the pipelines within the extended period,” thesources added.

Elaborating the sanctions, they said, there were multilateral andunilateral sanctions imposed on Iran. “The multilateral sanctions are byUnited Nations, while the unilateral sanctions are by United States, UnitedKingdom, Canada and European Union,” the sources said.

The unilateral sanctions imposed by US are the most severe amongst allinternational sanctions, they said adding the key US sanctions on Iran wereimposed through Iran Sanctions Act, 1996, Comprehensive Iran Sanctions,Accountability and Divestment Act, 2010 and National Defence AuthorizationAct, 2012.

Answering a question, the sources said the Iran-Pakistan gas pipelineproject had come under discussion during the visit of Iranian President toPakistan in March 2016 and both the sides had agreed to resolve alloutstanding issues.

The 56-inch pipeline, they said, would start from the onshore gasprocessing facility at Assaluyeh in Iran to transverse a distance of 1150kilometer up to the Iran-Pakistan border, which would be built and operatedby Iran.

While, the Pakistan section of pipeline, around 781 kilometer, is to belaid near to the Makran coastal highway from Iran-Pakistan border up toPakistan off-take point at Nawabshah. “The gas volume is 750 million cubicfeet per day (mmcfd),” they said.

Sharing some details of the project, the sources said Inter-GovernmentalFramework Declaration was signed between the two countries on May 24, 2009,while GSPA had been agreed on June 2009.

Subsequently, Pakistan issued sovereign guarantee on May 28, 2010. Theproject consultant was appointed on April 11, 2011, while the design,feasibility, route survey and other formalities of the project werecompleted on September 8, 2012. – APP