Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline (IPP) News & Updates.

[indian_warrior]

Guyz,

When was the first pakistan and iran signed gas pipeline agreement.

- Warrior

 

[proud007]

Hey! Hello man! How are you?? Not going to Israel Military forums???

 

[fawwaxs]

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi rejected US concerns over the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project, saying that UN sanctions on Tehran will not harm the deal and that it is much needed for Pakistan in the wake of the current energy crisis.

The foreign minister was speaking to the media at Multan airport on Sunday. Talking about the strategic dialogue between Pakistan and the US, he said that a future plan would be drafted after the strategic dialogue is completed in July after Hillary Clinton arrives.

Qureshi said that the sanctions imposed on Iran were imposed by the Security Council, and that Pakistan would respect the sanctions. He also mentioned that China-Pakistan nuclear cooperation was not discussed during the meeting with Richard Holbrooke, and that Pakistan was well aware of how to protect its interests.

The foreign ministers statement comes after Holbrooke hinted that Pakistan should be wary of the gas pipeline deal with Iran.

US special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke arrived in Islamabad on Saturday. Holbrooke’s visit aims at reviewing developments in strategic dialogue, and to finalise an agenda for US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton’s visit.

 

[sparklingway]

Pak portion of Iran gas pipeline to cost $1.2b
By Ghazanfar Ali

July 08, 2010

KARACHI: The Pakistani segment of the gas pipeline from Iran will cost $1.2 billion and work will be completed in four years, an official said.

Managing Director Interstate Gas Systems, Naim Sharafat, said the project is planned to be funded through a debt-equity ratio of 70:30, requiring debt financing of $872 million and equity investment of $373 million. The Interstate Gas Systems is a joint venture of Sui Southern Gas Company and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines.

He was giving a presentation to the Senate standing committee for Petroleum and Natural Resources on the status of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project at the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC).

This was the first Senate committee meeting at the SSGC since Iran and Pakistan inked the historic agreement in Tehran in June for the supply of natural gas from 2015.

Chairman Standing Committee Sabir Ali Baloch chaired the meeting, which discussed salient features of the 1,150-kilometre pipeline that will connect Iran’s South Pars gas field with Balochistan and Sindh provinces.

Sharafat said the project’s debt portion is expected to be secured from domestic and international financiers including Sindh and Balochistan governments, Sui Southern Gas Company, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines, Oil and Gas Development Company, Pak Petroleum, Pak-Arab Refinery Company and National Bank. The NBP will contribute $190 million or 51 per cent of equity structure.

Besides, potential private investors include Petronas of Malaysia and Gazprom of Russia which will contribute $183 million or 49 per cent of the equity structure.

Further elaborating, Sharafat said Pakistan will construct about a 780-kilometre 42-inch diameter pipeline from the border, traversing along the Makran Coastal Highway to connect with existing gas transmission network at Nawabshah. Almost 665 km of the pipeline will pass through Balochistan while about 115 km of the pipeline will be laid in Sindh.

He said under the Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA), Pakistan will import 750 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas with a provision to increase it to one billion cubic feet a day (bcfd).

The senators suggested that the stakeholders in the pipeline routes must be taken into confidence, majority of which are remote and less-developed areas, with clear-cut assurances about providing new schools, hospitals and vocational training centres.

In response to queries, the MD Interstate Gas Systems said being one of the largest infrastructure projects, the Iran-Pak pipeline will create new job opportunities in the provinces of Balochistan and Sindh, thus improving income level and standard of living of citizens.

Sharafat stated the Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement was broad enough to allow force majeure in the event the project is hampered due to United Nations sanctions on Iran. He said in case the project does not materialise, a liquefied natural gas terminal will be set up at Gwadar to allow re-gasified LNG to the system.

Giving the current status of the project, Sharafat said a detailed route survey was in progress to pave the way for engineering and design of pipeline facilities.

Later talking to media, the chairman Senate committee said it was important that the project start as soon as possible to bridge the rising natural gas demand-supply gap.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8th, 2010.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

$1.2 billion eh ... that is a lot lower than I expected, and therefore very feasible as well.

 

[sparklingway]

$1.2 billion eh ... that is a lot lower than I expected, and therefore very feasible as well.

Did you read this :- DAWN.COM | Pakistan | An unfair deal

It's the only report in our media that at least seemed to question the economic benefits of the deal (leaving aside the geo-political gains). The geo-political clap trap and Iran's need to show it off as a sign of not being isolated in the world, heavy media focus only on the "friendship" and the monthly "agreement signings" resulted in hardly anybody focusing on the economic pay offs (or lack thereof) from the project.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Did you read this :- DAWN.COM | Pakistan | An unfair deal

It's the only report in our media that at least seemed to question the economic benefits of the deal (leaving aside the geo-political gains). The geo-political clap trap and Iran's need to show it off as a sign of not being isolated in the world, heavy media focus only on the "friendship" and the monthly "agreement signings" resulted in hardly anybody focusing on the economic pay offs (or lack thereof) from the project.

I had missed that.

I am not sure I agree with everything Sanaullah Baloch has to say (I have read previous articles by him), but he does make a good point here:

Pakistan could also encourage electricity-generating units to be installed within Balochistan near the border towns and supply the produced electricity through the existing power transmission system to the rest of the country.

The question would then be about the cost of installing the necessary electricity-generating units, whether the transmission lines would need to be upgraded (cost for the up-gradation), and whether the GoP is planning on converting existing electricity-generating units to Natural Gas and therefore saving on the cost of constructing new ones.

I do think that there is a potentially significant pay-off from a geo-political standpoint with the IPP, since it just might realign us with our immediate region (ending our attachment to the Saudis) and gain Iran's cooperation in Afghanistan, provided we coordinate our 'reconciliation strategy' with them and address their concerns.

On a slightly different point:

However, those 63 cents go straight to the kitty of the central government and Balochistan receives only 12.5 per cent royalty against the gas produced. The level of discrimination and exploitation of Baloch wealth can only be gauged by these figures — Balochistan produces $1.4bn worth of gas annually but receives only $116m in royalties.

This has been addressed in the new NFC award has it not, where revenues from exploitation of natural resources will be split 50-50 between the Center and Provinces?

 

[sparklingway]

However, those 63 cents go straight to the kitty of the central government and Balochistan receives only 12.5 per cent royalty against the gas produced. The level of discrimination and exploitation of Baloch wealth can only be gauged by these figures — Balochistan produces $1.4bn worth of gas annually but receives only $116m in royalties.

This has been addressed in the new NFC award has it not, where revenues from exploitation of natural resources will be split 50-50 between the Center and Provinces?

I'll have to research this. Well let you know accordingly.

 

[ejaz007]

Pakistan-Iran pipeline

Pakistan to construct 780-km, 42 inch diameter pipeline

KARACHI: Pakistan will construct about 780-km, 42” diameter pipeline from the border, traversing along the Makran Coastal Highway to connect with its existing gas transmission network at Nawabshah, said Naim Sharafat, MD, Interstate Gas Systems (Pvt) Ltd (ISGS) here on Wednesday.

Briefing the Senate Standing Committee for Petroleum and Natural Resources about the status of the Iran-Pakistan Pipeline project, he said almost 665-km of the pipeline will pass through Balochistan while about 115-km of the pipeline will be laid in the Sindh province, he said.

This was the first Senate Committee meeting held at SSGC since Iran and Pakistan inked the historic agreement in Tehran in June 2010 for the supply of natural gas to Pakistan from 2015.

The meeting was chaired by Sabir Ali Baloch, the Standing Committee Chairman. Naim Sharafat, MD, ISGS who was accompanied by his CFO Mobin Saulat dilated on the salient features of the 1,150 km pipeline, which will connect Iran’s South Pars gas field with Balochistan and Sindh provinces.

The estimated cost of Pakistan segment is $1.2 billion to be incurred over a 4-year period, Mr. Sharafat added.

He further explained the project is planned to be funded at a debt-equity ratio of 70:30 requiring an equity investment of $373 million and debt financing of $872 million. Mr Sharafat said the project’s debt portion is expected to be secured from a combination of domestic and international financiers including Sindh and Balochistan governments, SSGC, SNGPL, OGDCL, PPL, PARCO and NBP (whose contribution will be $190 million or 51% of equity structure) as well as potential private investors including Petronas and Gazprom (whose contribution will be $183 million or 49% of the equity structure). MD, ISGS stated that under the Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA), Pakistan will import 750 mmcfd gas with a provision to increase it to one billion cubic feet a day (bcfd).

The senators suggested that the stakeholders in the routes traversing the pipeline must be taken into confidence, majority of which are remote and less developed areas, with clear-cut assurances for the provision of new schools, hospitals and vocational training centres. In response to the senators’ queries, MD, ISGS said that being one of the largest infrastructure projects the country has ever seen, the IP project will create new job opportunities in the provinces of Balochistan and Sindh, thus improving the income level and the standard of living of its citizens.

In response to the senators’ apprehensions, Mr. Sharafat stated that Iran-Pakistan Project’s GSPA was broad enough to allow force majeure relief in the event the project is hampered due to UN sanctions on Iran. MD, ISGS said that in case the project does not materialize, an LNG terminal will be set up in Gwadar to allow re-gasified LNG to the system.

Explaining the current status of the project, MD, ISGS said that a detailed route survey was in progress to pave way for the engineering and design of the pipeline facilities. staff report

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

I'll have to research this. Well let you know accordingly.

I made an error there - a more equitable distribution of proceeds from the exploitation of natural resources was addressed in the constitutional reforms, not the NFC.

ISLAMABAD: In a major breakthrough on Thursday, the parliamentary committee on constitutional reforms resolved the issue of controlling mineral and natural resources between the provinces and the federal government as it recommended to have joint control of the Federation and the provinces on these resources with 50 per cent share in profit.

The committee, which met here on Thursday at the Parliament House with Mian Raza Rabbani in the chair, resolved the issue regarding the control of mineral and natural resources between the federal government and provinces.
Control over natural resources Provinces-Centre row settled

 

[sparklingway]

Pakistan set to award $25m consultancy to German firm
By Saad Hasan

KARACHI: Pakistan is set to appoint ILF Consulting Engineers as the consultant for the Iran gas pipeline within six days, making first step toward the much-delayed project to meet energy shortage, a senior petroleum ministry official said on Wednesday.

“The cost of the consultancy project will be $25 million and they will have to complete the technical feasibility within 12 months,” Secretary Petroleum, Ejaz Chaudhry, told The News. The Germany-based consultants would be working on the pipeline along with National Engineering Services Pakistan Ltd. (Nespak), he said.

According to the Iran’s state-run television, Tehran has already built most of the 1,000 km pipeline on its territory. However, the work on the remaining 900 kilometres at the Pakistani side has been pending for years.
Chaudhry said that the project was very much in hand and the ministry understood its importance in securing energy supplies for the country. “We have taken every scenario into consideration, including the sanctions against Iran.”

The petroleum ministry official said that despite threats of losing ties with US companies, investors from Dubai, China and Germany had shown interest in financing the deal, Chaudhry said. “We have targeted January 2012 to start construction of the pipeline and trust me, financiers are out there,” he added.
Iran and Pakistan signed the historic pipeline deal in March this year under which 750 million cubic feet of gas will be pumped daily by mid-2015. The 7.5-billion-dollar project, dubbed as “peace pipeline”, will snake out of Iran’s South Fars field into Balochistan and Sindh provinces.

Chaudhry said that there was a proposal to involve state-run companies in arranging funds for the project. “There is EOBI, OGDCL and State Life for making the initial investment.”

Pakistan has been looking at internal sources to fund the gas pipeline as financing from international lenders becomes shaky in the wake of UN sanctions on Iran.

According to the secretary, the Petroleum Ministry had sought legal opinion of international experts to ‘go around’ the sanctions. “We are studying every option,” he added.

Under a force majeure clause of the gas sale purchase agreement, the project can be stopped if sanctions are imposed on Iran. According to a government official, the government would setup a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Gwadar if the project failed to materialise.

Pakistan set to award $25m consultancy to German firm

 

[Nothing]

Iran-Pak gas pipeline unlikely to take off: Wikileaks

Despite Iran and Pakistan signing on an ambitious gas pipeline deal with its possible extension to India , the multi-billion project is unlikely to take off, according to the text of an American diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks
A source, whose name has been removed, in the cable confided to the US diplomat in a private conversation on June 4, 2009 that he viewed near-term implementation of the Iranian-Pakistani gas link project as "very unlikely", the cable said.
"The downbeat comment by the was made despite the recent signing in Istanbul by President Ahmadinejad and President Zardari of an Iranian-Pakistani MoU committing to the gas project," it said.
"According to this source, indicated that he had several reasons for this opinion, but the only one he elaborated was that "the Pakistanis don't have the money to pay for either the pipeline, or the gas," the cable said.
During a panel discussion at the Baku Oil and Gas Show from June 2-5, 2009, on the future prospects of Caspian gas, several commentators noted the difficulty of doing business in "unpredictable, overly bureaucratic" Iran, and the alleged historical "unreliability" of Iranian gas supply contracts previously reached with Turkey and Turkmenistan.
"For example, panelists recounted that, after long negotiations, Iran has four times failed to sign separate Liquid national Gas contracts at the last minute.
Two panelists claimed that Iran has repeatedly diverted gas supplies to meet domestic needs, thereby interrupting its contractual gas exports - and has not paid contractual penalties for these violations," it said.
"A source asserted bluntly that Iranian political leaders are totally focused on domestic needs and personal jockeying, and are simply not interested in hearing about the value of optimising foreign gas exports.
The only exception, he claimed, is their interest in the notional prospect of annually exporting ten billion cubic meters (bcms) of gas to Europe," the cable said.
"He attributed this interest to a conviction that such a deal will significantly increase Iran's political leverage in Europe and substantially insulate it from future European pressure - a perception he characterised as revealing, and "typically" unrealistic," it said.

 

[Hyde]

I know can safely say that the wikileaks is bullshit

 

[PakSher]

IP pipeline is the need of the hour and the project should go on at the earliest.

 

[Nothing]

I know can safely say that the wikileaks is bullshit

Zaki I always respect your views.. but here I need some serious inputs like how much worked finished on both the sides ...
How finance for pipeline is managed ...
and at what rate Iran is selling gas ....

Thanks in advance