Moscow, Russia: The sole project Pakistan and Russia signed so far is facing difficulties for execution and can be suspended for indefinite period.
“South North Gas Pipeline” is in trouble as Islamabad is not deciding tariff for the transportation of gas”, reported Russian media.
According to available information, the project which was scheduled to kick off in year 2016 can be postponed till year 2019 and even can be suspended for indefinite period as Russian companies are not getting clear answer from Islamabad about the future of this project.
Experts of Oil and Gas sectors believe that the construction did not begin because authorities in Islamabad are not showing their serious interest in the project.
South North Gas Pipeline project was signed between Pakistan and Russia in October 2015 to transport liquefied gas (LNG) from port city of Karachi to industrial province of Punjab in Pakistan.
If Gazprom and authorities in Pakistan are not agreed the final terms within two months, then this project will face further problems. Authorities in Islamabad are not agreed with Rostekh (company that will execute the project) on gas transportation tariff issue although Russian company decreased the tariff twice to win the project.
As reported in media, Russian, so far the issue of delivering gas from the ports of Karachi and Gwadar in the south of Pakistan with power plants and industrial gas consumers in Lahore in the north has still not been resolved. The North-South gas pipeline, 1,100 km long, with a capacity of about 12 billion cubic meters of gas a year, should connect them. The local ISGS gas supplier is still negotiating with Russian companies, headed by Rostekh’s RT-Global Resources structure, about transportation conditions.
In June 2017, the head of the state corporation, Sergei Chemezov, said that project was postponed for 2019 due to the lack of agreements on the tariff for pumping gas but in early September, Deputy Energy Minister Yury Sentyurin said that Russian companies are likely to start building the North-South gas pipeline in 2018.
