http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-237/0806237921181026.htm
India likely to sign Iran gas pipeline deal soon
India is likely to sign an agreement shortly with Iran and Pakistan in
connection with the $ 7.4 billion Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline
project.
Talking to IRNA on the sideline of an International Symposium on "Safety
Instrumentation in Oil and Gas Industry", Monday in New Delhi, M S Srinivasan,
Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas, said: "There were some minor problems"
which have been sorted out", and likely to sign the deal in 4-5 weeks.
"Next month Iran, Pakistan and India likely to meet to decide on tri-nation gas
pipeline", Srinivasan said.
Very soon we should be able to sign the agreement with Iran and Pakistan, he
added.
Meanwhile, India's Petroleum Minister Murli Deora after a meeting with his
Iranian counterpart Gholam Hosein Nozari in Jeddah Sunday said: "very soon" an
agreement with Iran and Pakistan in connection with the trans-national pipeline
project involving the three countries will be signed.
Talking to NDTV, Deora said that there were some minor problems which have been
sorted out. There are some issues with Pakistan that has been taken care of.
"The Pakistan oil minister has changed and so we have to deal with the new
minister who is going to deal with it. Very soon we should be able to sign the
agreement with Iran and Pakistan," he said.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram also accompanied Deora for the talks held on the
sidelines of the meeting of world energy ministers in Jeddah to discuss
strategies to calm spiraling crude prices.
Srinivisan, while replying to reporters on the question of IPI gas pipeline, on
the sideline of the International Symposium here said:
"Transit issues with Pakistan were settled when Deora had had visited Islamabad
in April and there were few issues with Iran New Delhi wants to settle at the
tri-lateral meeting in Tehran".
In April, Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had told the Indian Prime
Minister, Manmohan Singh, that all obstacles holding up the long-delayed
project would be resolved within 45 days.
The 2,600-km (1,620-mile) pipeline would initially transport 60 cubic metres of
gas (2.2bn cubic feet) a day.
The project was first mooted in 1994 but has been stalled by a series of
disputes over prices and transit fees.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
