Iranian, Pakistani officials stress completion of IP gas pipeline

Iranian Minister of Economy and Finance Ali Tayyebnia and Advisor to Pakistan’s Prime Minister for National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, in a meeting on Tuesday, stressed the vital importance of implementing the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline for both states. The two officials agreed to do their best to complete the IP joint gas pipeline project in the near future. Under an agreement between Tehran and Islamabad, Pakistan was to get 750 million cubic feet of gas per day (mcfd) from January 1, 2015. Later, the gas supply from Iran was to be increased to 1 billion cubic feet gas per day (bcfd). Now the import of gas under the IP project seems a non-starter. If Pakistan fails to meet its obligation, then after the deadline, it will have to pay to Iran the huge penalty of almost $200 million a month. Iran has already built 900 kilometers of the pipeline on its own soil and is waiting for the 781-kilometer Pakistani side of the pipeline to be constructed. The IP pipeline is designed to help Pakistan overcome its growing energy needs at a time when the country of over 180 million people is grappling with serious energy shortages.