Pakistan has proposed to Turkmenistan to supply gas via Iran by using the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline, instead of laying a pipeline through the war-torn Afghanistan, under swap arrangement, Business Recorder has learnt. Experts of the two countries will review the proposal in the 11th Steering Committee meeting on TAPI gas pipeline project scheduled for September 15-20 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
Pakistan had proposed a swap arrangement during a meeting held between Minister for Petroleum Naveed Qamar and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan and Minister for Foreign Affairs Rashid Meredov who was heading the delegation here on Wednesday. Under this arrangement, imported gas volume agreed between Pakistan and Turkmenistan will be supplied to the northern provinces of Iran in lieu of which Iran will supply equivalent gas volume through the IP pipeline to Pakistan.
Talking to Business Recorder, Secretary, Petroleum, Kamran Lashari said that Pakistan had asked Turkmenistan to submit certification of gas reserves. Lashari said that experts' meeting will be held in Ashgabat on September 15 to sort out technical issues regarding the TAPI gas pipeline project. He said that Pakistan wants to resolve all technical issues on TAPI gas pipeline project by December end.
Meanwhile, according to an official statement, the Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Naveed Qamar underlined the need for fast tracking Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project and putting in place effective institutional mechanism for bilateral and multilateral progress on the matter.
Qamar made these remarks while talking to Rashid Meredov, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan and Minister for Foreign Affairs, who was heading the delegation from Turkmenistan that called on him here on Wednesday. Qamar, congratulating his counterpart on huge discovery of natural gas in Turkmenistan, said that both countries could benefit from each other's resources and technical expertise to a great extent.
The Minister, assuring assistance from his side, said that Pakistan was fully committed to early implementation of the TAPI project and considered that the collective and bilateral matters must be streamlined on priority basis to foster progress and prosperity between the two countries.
The two sides reviewed the status of signing of the Heads of Agreement (HoA) and negotiations on the Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) between Pakistan and Turkmenistan and also discussed possibly early commencement of the 11th Steering Committee meeting and holding the same in Ashgabat. Meredov said that he looked forward to further co-operation in the energy sector between the two brotherly countries and expediting the projects underway. The meeting was attended by Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Resources, Kamran Lashari, and Hilal A Raza, MD Inter State Gas Systems Ltd, and others.
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