Page 10 - AsianOil Week 37 2022

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Iran offers to complete gas

pipeline to Pakistan

PIPELINES & MOHAMMED Ali Hosseini, the Iranian newspaper, reported that it had viewed official
TRANSPORT ambassador to Pakistan, said last week that Iran’s documents showing that Tehran and Islama-
government was prepared to complete a natural bad had agreed to resume negotiations on the
Iran says sanctions gas pipeline to neighbouring Pakistan as part of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project. The same
are not a hurdle to the a wider effort to expand ties in the energy sector. set of documents indicated that Iran’s Ministry
project's development. “To further strengthen trade co-operation of Petroleum had expressed interest in supply-
with Pakistan, completion of energy projects, ing crude oil, petrochemicals and technical
especially the Pak-Iran gas pipeline, remains services to Pakistan’s energy sector, Business
vital,” he told the Associated Press of Pakistan Recorder said.
(APP) in an interview. The project is currently The gas pipeline project has been under dis-
being discussed by a technical committee, he cussion for nearly 30 years. Iran and Pakistan
stated, without divulging the details of these signed a preliminary agreement on the scheme,
discussions. which envisioned the construction of a link
Hosseini went on to say that Iran could serve from Iran’s offshore South Pars field to Karachi,
as a key supplier of gas to Pakistan and asserted in 1995, and then expanded the plan to include
that there were no sanctions in place that might India in 1999. Since then, India has withdrawn
hinder shipments. Both Tehran and Islama- from the project, Iran has completed its section
bad recognise the importance of the matter, he of the pipeline without bringing it into service
commented. and Pakistan has started work on its section of
Co-operation in the area of gas supplies could the pipeline without finishing it.
open the door for expansion of trade in other Meanwhile, both Tehran and Islamabad have
areas, he added. Iran and Pakistan have set the gone back and forth with respect to their level
goal of boosting the value of bilateral trade to of commitment to the project. The Pakistani
$5bn per year, he noted. side has wavered most frequently, as it has come
The ambassador was speaking about a under pressure from the US government to
week after Business Recorder, a Pakistani avoid dealings with Iran. ™

ONGC picks up more

Indian field licences

PROJECTS & INDIA’S ONGC announced on September 12 it to drive exploration efforts, with the primary
COMPANIES had secured six contracts to develop “discovered focus on developing new gas supply.
small fields” off the coast of India, with three “India is undergoing a transition in energy,”
ONGC won four of the located in the Arabian Sea and three in the Bay Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri
contracts without any of Bengal. said in a statement announcing ONGC’s awards.
competition. ONGC won four of the contracts without any “Gas is a transition fuel.”
competition, while it vied for the other two with ONGC also bid successfully earlier this year
Indian Oil Corp. The company said it expected for two blocks in India’s special bid round for
the awards to generate $1.9bn in development coal-bed methane acreage, securing one licence
spending. in Jharkhand and one in Madhya Pradesh. India
The awards were made as part of the DSF- wrapped up the coal-bed methane round on
III licensing tender launched in June last year May 31, awarding 15 blocks in total. ™
by India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural
Resources. The offering included licences for a
total of 75 fields, under India’s discovered small
field policy. The fields were divided into 32 con-
tract areas, including 11 onshore and 21 offshore.
The government has opened up previously
no-go areas in exclusive economic zones in a bid

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