DUBAI: A top official of the giant Russian gas conglomerate, Gazprom, has advocated the extension of the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline to China.

The Tehran head of the Gazprom, Abubakir Shomuzov, told an Iranian oil ministry website that his company was willing to participate in the IPI project.

"We are willing to cooperate with these two states and the IPI pipeline is one of the giant projects in which that Russia can play its role," he said. Mr. Shomuzov pointed out that the Russian Prime Minister Mikhail E. Fradkov had recently visited Pakistan. Discussions covered the possible participation of Russian companies in the project. Officials from Gazprom and the Russian railways were part of Mr. Fradkov's delegation.

Mr. Shomuzov emphasised that the IPI could be extended to China where natural gas was in high demand. "This pipeline can even go as far as to China because this region has a big population and is a big market," he said.

Analysts point out that the possible participation of Russia and China in the IPI project will have strong political overtones. Russia and China spearhead the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), where Iran, India and Pakistan are observers. The SCO is widely perceived as an "eastern" counterweight to western security and economic groupings.

An Iranian oil official acknowledged that Gazprom's involvement would speed up the IPI project. Gholam-Hossein Nozari, the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company, was quoted as saying, "Gazprom is a capable and big company and if it enters the peace pipeline, it will help with the progress and speed up the operation," by the Iranian news agency ISNA.

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