India, Pak, Iran to discuss gas pricing in August
10 Jul 2006
Mumbai: The third meeting of the tripartite working group on the India-Pakistan-Iran (IPI) gas pipeline project would be held in New Delhi on August 3-4. Officials of the three countries will try to resolve the deadlock over pricing of natural gas that Tehran wants to sell to the two countries through a $7 billion tri-nation pipeline.
Oil secretaries of the three countries who met in Islamabad on May 22-23 failed to arrive at a solution as Iran sought to link gas prices to prices of Brent crude.
Iran had proposed an oil-linked price of $7.2 per million British thermal units (MBTU) of gas, with a three per cent annual escalation. Neither New Delhi nor Islamabad is willing to pay this price. New Delhi has said it is not willing to pay anything above $4.25 per MBTU.
The
Iran formula also does not prescribe a floor and ceiling
for the gas price.
India proposes to import 90 million standard cubic meters
of gas per day from Iran through the 2,100 km-long pipeline
while Pakistan
has indicated a requirement of up to 60 mmscmd.
Energy ministers of the three countries would finalise the modalities of implementation of the project after the official-level talks conclude.
