The Hindu : Front Page : Iran hopes to finalise pipeline contract on Tuesday

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Oct 29, 2007
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Iran hopes to finalise pipeline contract on Tuesday

Atul Aneja

DUBAI: Iran is hoping that its discussions with Pakistani officials that are likely to be held in Tehran on Tuesday would result in the finalisation of the contract for the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline.

The Iranian Oil Minister’s special envoy for the IPI pipeline, Hojjatollah Ghanimifard told the Petroenergy Information Network (PIN) on Sunday that 75 per cent of the text of the contract had been finalised during the previous meeting held in Islamabad earlier this month. He added that Iranian legal experts had sent the remaining part of the draft to Pakistani negotiators after making the necessary changes. Mr. Ghanimifard hoped that the entire text would be finalised on Tuesday. He clarified that it would become legally binding only after energy ministers and senior officials would endorse it.

India had opted out of the previous round of talks held in Tehran. Iran and Pakistan, therefore, held two rounds of bilateral discussions at the official level. The formulation of the price-mechanism was at the heart of discussions between Iran and Pakistan.

Mr. Ghanimifard had earlier said that the gas prices would be linked to the price of natural gas imported by Japan as it currently consumed nearly 50 per cent of natural gas in the world. Also, unlike the U.K. and the U.S., the Japanese market was less prone to fluctuations.

The price of gas exported through the IPI gas pipeline would be reviewed once in three years under normal circumstances. However, under exceptional circumstances, it would be reviewed after two years for the first time and every year subsequently.

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