ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that no work on Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project had been started so far due to international sanctions against Iran.
The minister revealed this while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources, which met under the chairmanship of Senator Talha Mehmood. However, he added that the issue was on the agenda of the Iranian President’s ongoing visit to Pakistan.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that about 100 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) gas has been allocated for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to generate electricity. The Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB) would have no role in installing gas-based power project in KP as per the request of the provincial government, he added.
Khaqan said that no gas pipeline project, including Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project, was part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). China would construct an LNG pipeline from Gawadar to Nawabshah with a capacity to transport up to 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (BCFD) of LNG, but it was not a part of the CPEC, he added.
The minister said that Russia would build Karachi to Lahore LNG pipeline on Built Operate Transfer (BoT) basis with a cost of $2 billion, for which both the governments had signed an agreement and at present negotiations on the commercial agreement were under process.
