Iran Wants To Work With Russia’s Gazprom To Build Gas Pipelines To Pakistan & Oman
Pakistan’s energy consumer market is a population of 221 million with massive CPEC industrialization programmes underway creating huge future demands.
Iran’s Petroleum Minister Minister Javad Owji has said that Iran sees prospects for cooperation with Gazprom in joint gas deliveries to neighbouring Pakistan and Oman.
This comes off the back of a US$40 billion contract to develop seven Iranian oil fields and for Iranian oil trade with Russia to pay for completion of the rail section of the INSTC. It is welcome news for Pakistan, which is energy poor and has been stymied in energy imports since the Iranian sanctions are designed to prevent it from possessing nuclear power technologies which Tehran had wanted to export.
Work is already underway on the Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline, also known as the Peace pipeline, or IP Gas, is an under-construction 2,775-kilometre (1,724 mi) pipeline to deliver natural gas from Iran to Pakistan. Russian involvement would fast-track the completion of this.
Pakistan in particular would be a huge energy client prize, China has invested billions into its CPEC infrastructure and industrialization programme; it has a population of 221 million in a market that needs to generate 57 GW by 2030, against a current installed capacity of 39 GW.
Oman has a relatively small population at 5.5 million but wishes to copy some of the UAE initiatives and develop as a regional financial services and trade hub. That will also increase energy needs.
Gazprom and the National Iranian Oil Company signed an MoU on strategic cooperation on July 19 during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran. It provides for the analysis of cooperation opportunities, in particular, in the following areas: development of oil and gas fields in Iran, exchange of natural gas and oil products, implementation of large- and small-scale LNG projects, construction of main gas pipelines, and scientific, technical and technological cooperation.
The memorandum, which encompasses projects worth US$40 billion, envisages the development of deposits, implementation of the Iran LNG projects and exchange operations on gas, oil and petroleum products markets. As can be seen, part of that is to develop other regional markets, with getting energy into Afghanistan a later priority too.
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Chris Devonshire-Ellis is the Chairman of Dezan Shira & Associates. The firm assists British and Foreign Investment into Asia and has 28 offices throughout China, India, the ASEAN nations and Russia. For strategic and business intelligence concerning China’s Belt & Road Initiative please email silkroad@dezshira.com or visit us at www.dezshira.com
