Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Space Travel News .




OIL AND GAS
Iran deal fuels tussle for gas pipelines in Pakistan
By Guillaume LAVALL�E
Islamabad (AFP) July 23, 2015


A landmark deal on Iran's nuclear programme has breathed new life into plans for a gas pipeline through Pakistan -- and sparked a geopolitical tussle, with Russia looking to expand its influence, observers say.

With sanctions on Iran likely to ease and peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government getting under way, wrangling is intensifying over the proposed pipelines, which would link Central Asia to the Middle East.

Islamabad last week hailed the nuclear deal, struck after long negotiations in Vienna, as reviving a stalled project to pipe gas from Iran's southern fields to energy-starved Pakistan.

The South Asian state is desperate for solutions to a long-running power crisis that has sapped economic growth and left its 200 million inhabitants fuming over incessant electricity cuts.

The $7.5-billion Iran-Pakistan (IP) pipeline was inaugurated with great fanfare in March 2013 -- but the project immediately hit quicksand in the form of international sanctions on Tehran, which meant cash-strapped Pakistan struggled to raise the money to build its side.

Pakistan's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the Vienna deal should allow Islamabad to make good on its agreement to finish the pipeline and buy Iranian gas.

"Now hopefully, as the sanctions are removed, it facilitates us to address our energy need and also meet the contractual obligation," Abbasi told AFP.

Tehran has already built its part of the 1,800-kilometre (1,100-mile) pipeline which should eventually link its South Pars gasfields to the Pakistani city of Nawabshah, close to the economic capital Karachi.

As part of an ambitious $46 billion economic corridor linking western China to the Middle East through Pakistan, Beijing recently started work on the section of the pipeline between Nawabshah and the port of Gwadar, close to the Iranian border.

Once this is completed, Pakistan will build the last 80 kilometres to Iran -- before the 2018 general election, the government hopes -- and it could in future extend the connection northeast to China, according to government sources.

- Moscow fuel -

Russia is interested in supporting the IP pipeline through energy giant Gazprom, according to the Russian embassy in Islamabad.

Moscow has historically had closer relations with India, Pakistan's neighbour and great rival, but is pivoting more to Islamabad as New Delhi and Washington become closer allies.

Yury Barmin, an analyst specialising in Russia's Middle East policy, said that by using the IP pipeline to get closer to Pakistan, Moscow wanted to show India it had other options in the region.

"At the same time Russia really wants to explore commercial opportunities for its defence industry in the wider MENA (Middle East) region, and Pakistan is probably the only remaining untapped market for Moscow in that sense," Barmin told AFP.

Islamabad and Moscow signed a defence cooperation agreement in November last year.

The two countries are also close to finalising an agreement to build a gas pipeline linking Karachi, which has an LNG terminal, to the eastern city of Lahore, said Mobin Saulat, the CEO of Inter State Gas Systems, the publicly-owned company in charge of gas pipelines in Pakistan.

Saulat told AFP these moves meant that the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline (TAPI), an even more ambitious project, would likely take a back seat for now.

"LNG is happening already, we have the supply in place, the happening of IP with the latest development is of course next. And TAPI, in the list, will come at the end," he said.

TAPI, valued at up to $10 billion, would pump gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan and India, through Afghanistan.

But it is politically complex, requiring cooperation between at least four governments, and logistically challenging, as the pipeline would pass through areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan plagued by Taliban and separatist insurgents.

The Taliban's summer offensive is in full swing but there is hope for peace after militant and government representatives met for talks in Pakistan a fortnight ago.

- France-Russia: duo or duel? -

Last September France's Total was working to take the lead on TAPI, but the rise of Russian interest could change the field.

"They are talking to three companies, Total is number one and then a Russian and a Chinese company. Total definitely is the most advanced in the talks," Pakistan oil minister Abbasi said, citing briefings from the TAPI steering committee.

Russian participation in TAPI would eventually allow Moscow to connect the pipeline to others in the former Soviet Union, Barmin noted.

But there could be more trouble ahead. The CEO of Rostec Sergey Chemezov, considered close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is himself the subject of US sanctions over the Russian annexation of Crimea.

gl/pdw/erf/st

Gazprom

Total


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





OIL AND GAS
EU extends loan to assist with Ukrainian reforms
Brussels (UPI) Jul 22, 2015
The European Commission said Wednesday it agreed to extend financial assistance to Ukraine, a key energy transit country, to help with economic reforms. The commission, acting on behalf of the European Union, said it disbursed $650 million in assistance to Ukraine to address "urgent financing needs" necessary for economic stability. The loan is aimed at steering Ukraine through energy a ... read more


OIL AND GAS
Supporting Arianespace's mission cadence: A new fueling facility is ready

30 launches planned in next three fiscals: ISRO chief

Baikonur Cosmodrome to Be Equipped With Viewing Platforms

India to launch its heaviest commercial mission to date

OIL AND GAS
Curiosity rover finds evidence of Mars' primitive continental crust

Never Get Lost on Mars Again With NASA's New Red Planet Map

Opportunity Rover's 7th Mars Winter to Include New Study Area

Opportunity Gets Back to Work

OIL AND GAS
Russia to Land Space Vessel on Moon's Polar Region in 2019

Moon engulfed in permanent, lopsided dust cloud

Crashing comets may explain mysterious lunar swirls

Google Lunar X-Prize meets Yoda

OIL AND GAS
10 year journey to Pluto achieves historic encounter

US spacecraft survives close encounter with Pluto

Mysterious icy plains glimpsed on Pluto's surface

Multiple Discoveries from NASA's New Horizons Pluto Mission

OIL AND GAS
Bricks to build an Earth found in every planetary system

Observing the birth of a planet

Precise ages of largest number of stars hosting planets ever measured

Can Planets Be Rejuvenated Around Dead Stars?

OIL AND GAS
Engineers help NASA fine-tune new Space Launch System

String of cargo disasters puts pressure on space industry

US Space Command warns on overly fast Russian rocket engine phase out

Longest SLS Engine Test Yet Heats Up Summer Sky

OIL AND GAS
Chinese earth station is for exclusively scientific and civilian purposes

Cooperation in satellite technology put Belgium, China to forefront

China set to bolster space, polar security

China's super "eye" to speed up space rendezvous

OIL AND GAS
Summer School radar obs shine new light on near-Earth asteroid

Philae phones home for the eight time

Rosetta spacecraft sees sinkholes on comet

Million-mile journey to an asteroid begins for ASU-built instrument




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.