NEW DELHI: Iran has proposed that gas from its oil fields in Persian Gulf can be piped for use in India and Pakistan.

A 11,700 million U.S. dollar proposal to lay a 3,300 km long trans Asia pipeline to carry natural gas from Bandar Abbas in Iran up to Calcutta in eastern India was unveiled at the 12th annual conference of the international association for energy economics in the Indian capital of New Delhi.

The Multimillion dollar project was outlined by the Iranian Deputy Minister of mines and metals Alli Sham Ardekani.

Ardekani said he envisaged 100 million cubic meters per day pipeline from which Iran, Pakistan and India would draw 10, 20 and 70 million cubic meters per day of gas.

The pipeline, Ardekani said, could cross central India from Ahmedabad to Calcutta.

The cost of gas at the Indian border would be of the order of 1.6 USS dollars per British thermal unit (BTU). By contrast, Indian gas costs about 3.6 U.S. dollar per BTU he said.

Article extracted from this publication >> January 19, 1990