India, Iran Resume Talks On Proposed Gas Pipeline

Himendra Kumar, Dow Jones Newswires:

An India-Iran joint working group Wednesday resumed talks in New Delhi on a proposed natural gas pipeline project that aims to connect Iran and India via Pakistan, an Indian Petroleum Ministry official said. READ MORE

The two-day bilateral talks led by India's Petroleum Secretary Sushil Tripathi and Iran's Deputy Oil Minister Hadi Nejad-Husseinian will discuss all issues related to the pipeline, including its route and financial, legal and technical aspects, the official said.

"The Indian government will also apprise the Iranians of the progress made in the bilateral talks held on Dec. 16-17 between India and Pakistan's joint working group on the pipeline," the official said.

The proposed 2,600-kilometer pipeline is expected to be designed to handle 150 million cubic meters of gas a day. The construction cost is estimated around $8 billion.

If the project is realized, India could initially buy up to 60 million cubic meters a day of gas from Iran, while Pakistan could buy up to 30 million cubic meters a day.

The proposed pipeline is targeted to come onstream in 2010.

-By Himendra Kumar, Dow Jones Newswires; 91-11-2307-4020; himendra.kumar@ dowjones.com