TEHRAN (TCA) — Representatives of major Indian natural gas importers are due to visit Iran early in March to discuss a long-proposed undersea gas pipeline which New Delhi sees as an alternative to a gas-pipeline project via Pakistan, Iran’s PressTV reported.
Executives of Gail and Indian Oil Ltd (IOL) will meet Iranian officials to discuss the price of gas to be used in the pipeline which has to pass through the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Sea, the Economic Times reported on February 29.
The proposed pipeline estimated to cost $4.5 billion would bypass Pakistan and transport up to 31 million cubic meters of gas per day, the New Delhi-based daily said.
The Economic Times also said India might also use the 1,400-km pipeline for imports of gas from Turkmenistan.
Under the plan, gas from the Central Asian country would be transferred to Iran which would deliver the same amount to India under a swap deal.
The newspaper said Oman might join the pipeline at a later stage, making it a trilateral initiative given its geopolitical proximity both to India and Iran.
Iran and Oman have already signed a deal worth $60 billion to build an undersea pipeline to ship 20 million cubic meters of gas per day to Oman during 25 years.
Some Iranian officials, however, say that India’s proposal for the undersea pipeline is a complicated project. Iran instead is touting a pipeline through Pakistan. The country finished the 900 km length of the pipeline on its territory in 2013, pending Pakistan’s completion of its section for the gas flow to begin.
India has withdrawn from the $7 billion gas project, initially dubbed as the Peace Pipeline.
Iran has the world’s largest natural gas reserves that account for more than 18 percent of the global reserves.
