Pakistan to move ahead on Iran gas pipeline

The Spokesman said rejected reports about Saudi Arabia's opposition to the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, stressing that Islamabad will not tolerate any foreign pressure on the plan. Unnamed diplomatic sources in Pakistan said Saudi Arabia has asked the Pakistani government to reconsider its decision to pursue energy cooperation with Iran, which includes the construction of the IP gas pipeline and purchasing electricity and oil from Tehran, press tv reported. Saudi Arabia is said to have offered Pakistan a loan for the construction of a new oil facility to bail the country out of its financial and energy crises. The Pakistani spokesman further added that Russia has offered Islamabad financial assistance for the completion of the IP project, which will take the Iranian natural gas to Pakistan, and noted that negotiations are underway in this regard. The 2700-kilometer long pipeline was to supply gas for Pakistan and India which are suffering a lack of energy sources, but India has evaded talks. Iran and Pakistan declared they would finalize the agreement bilaterally if India continued to be absent in the meetings. According to the project proposal, the pipeline will begin from Iran's Assalouyeh Energy Zone in the south and stretch over 1,100 km through Iran. In Pakistan, it will pass through Baluchistan and Sindh but officials now say the route may be changed if China agrees to the project. The gas will be supplied from the South Pars field. The initial capacity of the pipeline will be 22 billion cubic meters of natural gas per annum, which is expected to be later raised to 55 billion cubic meters. It is expected to cost $7.4 billion.