India, Pakistan to defy US on Iran pipeline
India and Pakistan vowed on Monday to pursue a proposed $4 billion natural gas pipeline from Iran to South Asia, shrugging off US concerns over the project. A joint statement at the end of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s visit to India said the two countries agreed to cooperate in several areas including the energy sector. “It was agreed that the ministers of petroleum and natural gas would meet in May to explore cooperation in the sector including on the issue of pipelines,” it said. Hopes for the pipeline, once regarded as unlikely because of India-Pakistan tensions, received a boost as the nuclear-armed rivals declared their peace process had gathered momentum and become “irreversible”.
“The whole world is buying oil and signing agreements with Iran and this a project which will benefit the three countries. Pakistan is desirous of moving forward on this issue,” Musharraf told a meeting of editors in New Delhi. Last month, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice conveyed her government’s concerns about the project as Washington seeks to pressure Tehran over what is says is a secret nuclear weapons programme. Energy-thirsty India is also in talks to build a $3.3 billion pipeline from Turkmenistan to bring gas across Afghanistan and Pakistan and another pipeline from Myanmar to meet the energy needs of its booming economy. Indian oil firms are also eyeing the Pakistani market to export diesel as India has surplus refining capacity, which is expected to rise further. Pakistan does not allow imports of Indian diesel but officials in New Delhi say the situation could change after oil ministers of the two countries meet next month. Indian Oil Corp, the country’s largest refiner, is keen to transport diesel by road to Pakistan as it has storage facilities and pipelines running close to the border. Government officials say Reliance Industries, India’s sole private refiner and a large exporter of fuels, has also held preliminary talks with Pakistan to sell diesel as soon as Islamabad allows it.
Arising out of this pipeline, there is now talk of Pakistan, China, India, Iran and others working on the formation of an Asian Community, along the lines of the EU.
**Effort is intended to strengthen ties across Asia **
An Indian cabinet minister has proposed to Chinese officials to extend to China a controversial, and as yet unbuilt, transcontinental pipeline in an attempt to serve both countries’ energy needs and to foster a wider Asian community spanning the Caspian and South China Seas. On the sidelines of a recent visit to India by China’s prime minister, Wen Jiabao, the countries initiated talks on a pipeline that would begin in Iran’s natural gas fields; cross Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Myanmar; and end in Yunnan Province, in southwestern China, India’s petroleum minister, Mani Shankar Aiyar, said Monday in an interview. The talks were little noticed during Wen’s journey through India. A pipeline from Iran to India via Pakistan has already been proposed and was the subject of talks over the weekend here between India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and Pakistan’s president, Pervez Musharraf. And though a Chinese extension has been floated as a mere idea, only last week did it enter a diplomatic forum as a proposal. The pipeline seeks to retrace the basic contours of the ancient Silk Route, a transcontinental road that bridged Asia and fostered brisk trade centuries before the continent was torn apart by colonial divisions and the cold war. It is, in that sense, reminiscent of the founding of Europe’s Coal and Steel Community in 1951, Aiyar said. “European fratricide turned into European fraternity” after World War II, he said, with the birth of “a community of interests through mutual trade reinforced by mutual investment.” “Coal and steel at that stage of human history were regarded as the fundamental building blocks of economic prosperity,” he said during a 40-minute car ride. “Now, in Asia, oil and gas have a similar role to play.”
TEHRAN, April 19–A senior gas industry official said here on Tuesday that the Iran-India gas pipeline will become a reality by next March. “This year (March 2005-2006) the agreement on Iran’s gas export to India (via a pipeline which will cross Pakistan) would be finalized,“ said the managing director of National Iranian Gas Exports Company. Rokneddin Javadi told Fars news agency that New Delhi has agreed to let the pipeline cross Pakistan on its way from Iran to India, implying that the last obstacle in the way of implementing the giant project has been removed.
Asked whether the United States could dissuade India from participating in the project, the official said nothing is impossible in the world of politics. “Both America and India are amongst the world’s powerful countries and the US is regarded as a big trading partner for India,“ he said, adding, however, that it would be too costly for India to import gas from Qatar or Turkmenistan. “Gas imports from Qatar, if Iran allows the use of its territory, would cost 15 percent higher for India while imports from Turkmenistan would be 20 percent more expensive,“ he said.
Tehran, New Delhi and Islamabad are negotiating seriously over the pipeline originating at the South Pars gas field in Iran, crossing Pakistan, delivering much needed natural gas to western India. The proposed $4 billion pipeline still faces significant hurdles. Tehran needs to offer New Delhi a reasonable price for natural gas. Washington opposes any project that would benefit Iran. New Delhi needs to be satisfied that Islamabad will not turn off the tap, and Islamabad may not be able to assure supplies even if it wants to, since the pipeline would cross the restive province of Baluchistan, where it could become a magnet for tribal grievances.
‘Pakistan to go ahead with Iran pipeline’: Musharraf
Jakarta, Apr 24 (UNI) Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf today asserted his country would go ahead with the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, noting it would benefit all three countries.
Meeting with the Iranian Vice-President Muhammad Raza Arif on the sidelines of the Asian-African sumit here, President Musharraf discussed the gas pipeline project with the Iranian leader.
‘‘Pakistan fully supports the project,’’ the Associated Press of Pakistan quoted President Musharraf as saying. The project will benefit all three countries, he added.
The two leaders expressed satisfaction at Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s recent visit to Iran and said the two countries enjoy cordial relations.
The Pakistan Prime Minister also met his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai and discussed development of rail and road linkages for trade with land-locked Central Asian states.
Thanking President Musharraf for Pakistan’s role in facilitating the Afghan refugees to take part in Afghan general elections last year, Mr Karzai briefed him about the reconstruction in Afghanistan and the need for continued development assistance under the United Nations.
‘‘Afghanistan is pleased to see improvement of relations between India and Pakistan,’’ the Afghan leader said.
President Musharraf also had a meeting with Nepalese King Gyanendra.
Iran-India gas pipeline on its way, says Aiyar
NEW DELHI: Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said that talks on a natural gas pipeline from Iran to India by Pakistan were progressing smoothly and only await an agreement over price, delivery and transmission routes.
I am looking forward to going to Pakistan and a pipeline is very much on its way, Aiyar told Hardnews magazine, referring to the US$4.2 billion pipeline to import gas from Iran via Pakistan. As far as the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline is concerned, I had two meetings with my counterpart in Iran. Then we had one techno-commercial discussion in New Delhi followed by a techno-commercial workshop in Tehran, said the minister. Arrangements were being made for bilateral and trilateral talks, he said, adding that he was scheduled to visit Islamabad next month to discuss the proposed project and other issues in the hydrocarbons sector.
Aiyar said, “It is simply a question of arriving at an agreement over price, quality, delivery schedule and transmission routes”. He said that New Delhi respected Washingtons concern for the proposed pipeline from Iran, however decisions would be taken in the national interest. I do not think there is any ambivalence among our neighbours. And I do not think there is any pressure from the outside world, he said.
The European Union, which will soon kick-off an energy dialogue with India, has said it is not opposed to a $4.16 billion pipeline project to pump gas from Iran to India through Pakistan. “Our position on Iran-Pak-India gas pipeline project is different from that of the United States,” which was against the project in the face of Iran’s hidden nuclear programme, a senior EU official told visiting Indian journalists. “We do not accept the hidden and secret nuclear programme of Iran…But we have no negative position on the trilateral gas project, which is still at the study level,” the official said. Energy dialogue is one of the key areas of India-EU cooperation after the bilateral relationship was upgraded to “strategic partnership” level last year.
The EU, which has tremendous expertise on energy conservation, is scheduled is to kick-off energy dialogue at the foreign secretary level on June 29 here. The Indian delegation will be headed by Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran. The dialogue is to cover all aspects of energy with special emphasis on energy security, particularly in the face of surging global oil prices. Both India and EU largely depend on imports for their oil requirement. Energy is among the areas on which action plan is being worked out for strengthening India-EU cooperation. This is expected to be unveiled during the next India-EU Summit scheduled for September 7 in New Delhi.
SB your patriotism is rather infectious and I really appreciate that. However these “serious negotiations” are going on for a long time. Problem with the three countries is that they have serious differences when it comes to regional and global politics. This gas pipeline project reminds of a famous Urdu/Hindi saying:
Kahin ki eent, kahin ka rorra,
Bhan Mati nay kumba jorra.
[translation: Ms. Bhan Mati has gathered/ snatched a very diverse group of kids and set up her own family].
Pakistan is pro-US, while Iranian MAToos have serious issues with the USA. For India, accepting Pakistan and Jinnah is even tougher. Just read what Advani went through recently. So BJP now denies the very founder of Pakistan and considers him the lowest of the low.
**India and Pakistan Commit to Building Gas Pipeline Linking Iran to India **
By Anjana Pasricha, VOA, New Delhi
India and Pakistan say work on a gas pipeline linking Iran to India via Pakistan could begin next year. Officials from the two countries expressed serious commitment to the project at the end of two days of talks held recently in New Delhi. Officials from the two South Asian countries say they will appoint separate legal and financial consultants to begin work on the project to build a 2,600-kilometer pipeline to carry gas from Iranian gas fields to India through Pakistani territory. The two-day talks in New Delhi also included issues such as financing and security of the pipeline, pricing and sharing of the gas. The project cost was initially estimated at $4 billion, but an increase in steel prices could push that up substantially.
An energy expert with the Confederation of Indian Industry, V. Raghuraman, says the pipeline is vital for India, because energy demands are expected to double by 2020 as the economy grows. “The pipeline is very strategic because Iran is sitting with a lot of gas reserves,” he said. “The best way to access it is through the land route of Pakistan, and it gives the most win-win situation for all three countries - Iran, India, and Pakistan.” Pakistan says it wants the project completed by 2010 when it may face shortages of natural gas. It will also earn millions of dollars in transit fees. Pakistan recently signed an agreement with Iran for the project. Officials say this will be expanded to involve India. India is also considering two other gas pipeline projects, one that would run from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan, and another from Burma to the east of the country. Mr. Raghuraman says India is exploring the possibilities of meeting its needs from several Asian countries. These projects could involve East Asian countries and former Soviet republics. “In the long run we have to think of an Asian gas grid which will run along from the CIS to Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore,” he explained.
India imports 70 percent of its crude oil, and only produces half the natural gas it needs. The India-Pakistan-Iran pipeline project was proposed a decade ago, but it only gained momentum because of the peace process between India and Pakistan. The project hit another roadblock when the United States voiced reservations about the plan because it involves Iran - a country it accuses of supporting terrorism and having a nuclear weapons program. But India and Pakistan say they will not abandon a project which is in their national interest.
Q: Anyone here know what possible route are being considered for the proposed Iranian, Pakistani, Indian gas pipeline? I'd think a sensible route would be from Quetta to Zadehan along the existing railway, but that leaves Gwadar out of the picture and it seems likely that the Chinese will want a payback for their 3 billions invested there implying a gas terminal from Iran to Gwadar.
Q: Am I the only one that thinks it more prudent to build railroads than pipelines? They are more general purpose having the ability to transport any kind of goods for 10% of existing costs, especially important for landlocked countries like Afghanistan, are easier to guard since they aren't full of explosive hydrocarbons under high pressure, and using tank cars, can carry just as much NG or Oil. In addition, by retasking the tanker cars, capabilities and capacities can quickly be shifted if new reserves are discovered or if political realities change. Finally, once the investment is made in tanker cars, existing rail infrastructures could be pressed into service to good affect. What do you think?