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Gas pipeline still faces some restrictions: Minister

  The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline is on agenda of talks between the two countries during the current visit of Iranian President Hassan Rohani but it still faced some restrictions, Minister for Gas and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told a parliamentary panel on Friday.
Abbasi said that so far no work on the pipeline could be started because of international sanctions on Iran, most of which have now been lifted.
The project is expected to be taken up during President Rohani's current visit to Pakistan, but the minister believes the pipeline is still facing some sanctions.
He stressed that Pakistan was serious about finishing work on the long-awaited pipeline, which would bring 750 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd) and cost $2 billion. "If we kick off work today, it will come to an end in 2018," he said.
Abbasi made it clear that no gas pipeline project including the liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline formed part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Though China will construct an LNG pipeline from Gwadar to Nawabshah with a capacity to carry up to 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), it is not part of the CPEC.
Russia will also build an LNG pipeline from Karachi to Lahore costing $2 billion on build, operate and transfer basis. In this regard, Islamabad and Moscow have signed an agreement and at present negotiations are under way for a commercial pact.
Abbasi pointed out that the Ministry of Petroleum had allocated 100 mmcfd of gas to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for power production, adding that 24 LNG-based power plants would be developed in four years. - news@khaleejtimes.com

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