Pakistan offers to buy Indian share of Iran sponsored gas pipeline

Islamabad, Dec. 25(ANI): Pakistan has proposed to buy the Indian share of gas from the proposed 7.5 billion dollar IPI pipeline.

"A team of energy experts led by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources Asim Hussain would visit Iran on a two-day visit to discuss the deal," the Dawn quoted a source in the Pakistan petroleum ministry, as saying.

The delegation would try to persuade the Iranian authorities to sign the agreement in the next few months, even if India stayed out.

"We will try our best to convince the Iranian side of the need for starting work on the project as early as possible," an official in the ministry told Dawn.

Iran recently had said that it has plans to link the gas prices with that of crude oil in the Gulf market, with a ratio of 80 to 100 which means that if a barrel of crude oil is priced at 100 dollars in the international market, Iran will sell one million cubic feet of gas at 80 dollars. Also, the price of gas will not remain fixed but will fluctuate in accordance with the price of oil.

But what can be seen as a blow to Pakistan's proposal, Iran still wants India to be a part of the deal to counter growing US influence on its old ally in the energy sector. (ANI)