Pricing of Iran's gas export to be announced

Dubai, Feb 25: The pricing formula of Iran's gas export to India and Pakistan will be announced after a tripartite agreement, Iranian Oil Ministry official, Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, has said.

Mr Ghanimifard, who is leading the negotiating team on the ''Peace Pipeline'' project, yesterday said that India was yet to announce a formula.

He said at the tripartite negotiations in Tehran, the Iranian delegation was ready to clearly declare the formula for all who had signed it, Tehran Times reported. But India and Pakistan showed no interest in announcing the formula by the time it was ratified by their countries' officials.

Referring to reports that Iran would give discounts in the new formula, he said none of the three parties has so far presented a definite price as a final proposal to compare the formula with an assumed price.

Mr Ghanimifard, who is also head of the National Iranian Oil Company for international affairs, dismissed claims Iran wanted the project through all means.

He said Iran has other export opportunities and there are no special conditions obliging Iran to sell gas under any price and circumstance.

The formula relates to price of crude oil and any change in price of crude oil will change price of Iran's gas export, he said.

UNI