The Hindu : National : Iran regime change will not hit oil projects: Aiyar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 28, 2005

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National

Iran regime change will not hit oil projects: Aiyar

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Monday said the change in regime in Iran would not have a negative impact on the proposals for import of natural gas and development of oilfields. The talks were progressing as scheduled.

The two countries recently concluded a $22-billion deal, entailing imports of five million tonnes of liquefied natural gas from Iran for 25 years beginning 2009. In addition, a proposal for gas import through a pipeline passing through Pakistan is under negotiation.

A team from Pakistan would visit India on July 11 to discuss the project. A technical delegation from Iran was here last week. It proposed to visit Pakistan on July 4 and would return here on July 9 for further discussions, Mr. Aiyar told newspersons here.

`The bubble will burst'

He said the "bubble" of world oil prices, which have risen to record levels of over $60 a barrel, would burst at some stage and the prices might ultimately dip to $35 to $40 a barrel. He blamed the peaks in prices on speculative trading in the New York Mercantile Exchange.

On the Left criticism of the fuel price hike, he said the Left leaders had been reasonable in their interaction with him. Describing them as "open and understanding," he expressed the hope that even if they decided not to participate in the coordination committee meetings with the United Progressive Alliance, discussions would continue on other forums. At the same time, he ruled out any cut in taxes, as demanded by the Left.

Mr. Aiyar said there was no reason for panic over the continuing surge in global crude prices. The country had sufficient foreign exchange reserves to buy oil at high prices. However, the implications for consumers were cause for concern.

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