Iranian Gas To Start Flowing From December 2014: Pakistani Min.

Islamabad, Sept 5, IRNA – Pakistani Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources has said that Iran-Pakistan multibillion gas pipeline project will be completed by December 2014, a media report said on Tuesday. Daily ‘Express Tribune’ said that Dr Hussain told the National Assembly through a written reply that surveys for the project are due to be completed before October 2012 and construction can start as early as December 2012. Updating the House on the gas pipeline project, he said gas was to be supplied from Iran’s South Pars gas field and delivered at the Pak-Iran border. The pipeline will start supplying 750 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMCFD) starting from December 2014, he added. He said that the project is continuing as per schedule and the work on detailed route survey and the final front end engineering design is scheduled to be completed in September 2012. Pakistan’s Minister for State Shahnaz Sheikh said that a cess has been imposed on petroleum product prices to collect additional revenues for the IP project. Dr Hussain further said that the depletion of natural gas is a natural phenomenon in Pakistan that has small reserves which are not capable of producing large amounts of natural gas. Demand for natural gas has outstripped supply in recent years, putting existing reserves under immense pressure. The total consumption of natural gas in the country stands at 3480 MMCFD million cubic feet per day of which the power sector consumes 959 mmcfd, with 747 mmcdf being consumed in the domestic sector. Meanwhile 578 mmcfd of gas is consumed by the fertiliser industry, four mmcfd by the cement industry. While 107 mmcfd is consumed commercially. 327 mmcfd is consumed by CNG cylinders which are widely installed in locally manufactured vehicles in Pakistan./end