Pak-Iran gas pipeline project intact despite US sanctions, says envoy

Tehran, Aug 16(ANI): The Pakistani Ambassador to Iran, Mohammad Bakhsh Abbasi has said that sanctions by the United States and the European Union (EU) targeting Iran's refined petroleum imports will have no affect on the 7.6 billion dollar Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project.

"Iranian and Pakistani engineers are still working on this pipeline together and this project is intact," The Nation quoted Abbasi, as saying.

Pakistan and Iran had signed the gas contract on June 12, under which Tehran agreed to deliver over 21.2 million cubic metres (742 million cubic feet) of natural gas per day to Islamabad from 2014.

The project will transfer gas from Iran's South Pars gas field to Pakistan's Balochistan and Sindh provinces.

The pipeline was originally planned between Iran, Pakistan and India, but the latter pulled out of the project last year.

Pakistan plans to use the gas purchased from Iran for its power sector.

Iran is the world's fifth largest oil exporter, but on account of its low refining capacity, it meets nearly 40 per cent of its requirements of petrol through imports. (ANI)