Tehran, Iran, Oct. 24
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran has allocated more than $1.442 million to carrying out gas projects in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
Sistan and Baluchestan Governor Ali Osat-Hashemi said the province's total population is around 2.7 million people, but only Iranshahr city's residents have access to gas through national pipeline network, Iran's SHANA News Agency reported on October 24.
"The residents of the other 18 cities of the province don't have access to gas through the national network," he said.
Sistan and Baluchestan province borders Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Iran plans to export gas to Pakistan through a pipeline dubbed the peace pipeline. India was originally supposed to join the project, but later cancelled its participation.
The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, projected to cost $1.2-1.5 billion, would enable the export of 21.5 million cubic meters of Iranian natural gas to Pakistan on a daily basis.
The Managing Director of Iran's Gas Engineering and Development Company Alireza Gharibi said onMarch 29 that by laying the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, Tehran is mainly investing to expand its national gas network and only 30 percent of the expenses are related to the exports project.
Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Ali Majedi previously said Tehran will no export any gas to Pakistan in 2014.
"Pakistan has not completed its share of the pipeline yet," he explained, Iran's ISNA News Agency reported on September 20. "Pakistanis blame the delay on lack of finance due to sanctions but that is not acceptable," he added.
Majedi went on to note that Iran is ready to start gas exports to Pakistan as soon as the other side completes its share of the pipeline.
Majedi said on July 19 that a new scenario has been proposed for the construction of peace pipeline.
"We are currently studying a scenario in which a third company constructs the pipeline and buys gas from Iran and sells it to Pakistan," he explained.
Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Hamidreza Araqi said on Feb. 22 that the peace pipeline will be stretched to China through Pakistan.
Pakistan's ambassador to Iran Noor Muhammad Jadmani on Feb. 9 rejected western media outlets' reports on Islamabad's unwillingness to continue with the peace pipeline project.
"Islamabad faces some obstacles in implementing the project, but feels obliged to finish it," he said.
Iran rejected Pakistan's request for supplying gas at discount rate in December.
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