US Threatens Pakistan With Sanctions Over Attempted Iranian Gas Importation

[Karachi]

US Threatens Pakistan With Sanctions Over Attempted Iranian Gas Importation

US Envoy Tells Pakistan to Buy Gas Somewhere Else

by Jason Ditz, September 16, 2011

US officials have threatened to impose sanctions on the Pakistani government following reports that they intend to construct a natural gas pipeline to neighboring Iran, which would be used to import gas into energy poor Pakistan.
Pakistan has been struggling with energy shortages for years, making rolling blackouts a regular part of life across much of the nation, with many towns seeing electricity at best 8 hours a day.
The US, however, says that their own aid program considers Pakistan’s energy needs a “top priority” and that they should consider buying gas from someplace else, or getting involved in India’s pipeline through Afghanistan.
But US aid has done little for the provision of energy so far, and is constantly being threatened for political gain at any rate. Likewise, rival India is unlikely to allow Pakistan to get involved in their own pipeline scheme even if they wanted to. Iran, then, is the cheapest and most sensible alternative

US Threatens Pakistan With Sanctions Over Attempted Iranian Gas Importation -- News from Antiwar.com

[Karachi]

TEHRAN— Islamabad has requested for increasing the volume of gas importing from Iran despite the renewed opposition from the U.S. over the multi-billion-dollar Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project.

Islamabad has formally requested Tehran to increase the volume of gas exports to Pakistan from the previously agreed amount of 20 million cubic meters per day (MCM/d) to 50 MCM/d, the head of the National Iranian Gas Exporting Company said on Saturday.


SHANA news agency quoted Hossein Bidarmaghz as saying that according the former contract between the two countries, it is on the agenda that Iran would export 21 mm3/pd of natural gas to Pakistan since the beginning of 2014, but in the recent trip of Pakistani energy minister to Iran, Islamabad requested for increasing the amount by 30 million cubic meters per day.


He asserted that Iran has the potential capacity to supplying the gas demand of Pakistan.
“Iran has already built 80 percent of its portion of the gas pipeline up to the Pakistani border and Pakistan aims to speed up the construction of its portion of the gas pipeline project to begin supplying gas by 2014 or even one year earlier”, the official further said.


The Pakistan’s new request is while that the United States has renewed its opposition to the multi-billion-dollar Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, warning that Islamabad’s continuous pursuit of the plan may invoke US sanctions.


The renewed opposition from the U.S. came just days after high level talks between Pakistan and Iran, where the two neighbors vowed to go ahead with the project that would bring its first gas flow by 2014.


However, a senior government official of Pakistan said that despite opposition from the U.S., Pakistan would not abandon the project, as an agreement has already been signed with Tehran, South Asian News Agency reported.