India

Iran, India eye deepwater gas pipeline

Iran, India eye deepwater gas pipeline

Iran has generally agreed to deliver natural gas to Asia’s top energy consumer India through a deepwater pipeline crossing the Sea of Oman, an Iranian official says.

“Negotiations were held with three Indian companies for [their] purchase of gas from Iran, and general agreements have been reached,” Ali Amirani, director of marketing at National Iranian Gas Exports Company (NIGEC), said, according to Press TV.

He added that Iran and India are expected to start talks about gas sales and pricing after the finalization of the agreements in a months’ time.

Amirani stated that India’s South Asia Gas Enterprise Pvt. Ltd. (SAGE) has conducted feasibility studies for the planned 1,400-kilometer pipeline, which is estimated to cost USD 4-5 billion and would carry 31 million cubic meters (mcm) per day of gas to India. The envisaged pipeline will pump gas from Iran’s gigantic South Pars gas field.

South Pars covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are in Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 square kilometers, i.e. North Dome, are in Qatar’s territorial waters.

India is among Asia’s major importers of energy and relies on Iran to meet a portion of its energy demands. Iran was the second-largest supplier of India’s crude oil before illegal US-led sanctions were imposed on Tehran about two years ago. India’s oil shipments from Iran are estimated to rise to 4 million tons in the current fiscal year.

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