TEHRAN, Iran: Pakistan-Russia economic relations have entered into another critical phase after Russian President Vladimir Putin directed Russian state gas agency Gazprom to fund Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline while Pakistan looks shy to execute this long awaited project.
The bilateral relations between Pakistan and Russia are already in blue as Islamabad is holding back sole Moscow project in its territory that is South North Gas Pipeline to transport Natural Liquefied Gas (LNG) from port city of Karachi to industrial province of Punjab.
IPI is on hold since 15 years due to unseen pressure of the United States on Pakistan while South North Gas Pipeline is also on hold due to unexplained reasons.
Russian think tanks believe that Pakistan has halted the South North gas pipeline project due to pressure from certain Middle Eastern Countries.
National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Gazprom signed a contract to execute IPI with Russian funds on the sidelines of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iran.
The document was concluded in the development of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Oil of Iran, reflecting the state support for the gas pipeline construction project.
“The MoU of Gazprom and NIOC allows companies, in particular, to begin preparing a feasibility study for the design, construction and operation of the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline,” Gazprom said.
In addition, Gazprom and NIOC signed another memorandum of understanding, according to which the companies will develop the concept of creating a unified system for the extraction, transportation of natural gas and gas chemistry in Iran.
On March 28, 2017, Gazprom and NIOC signed a MoU. According to the document, the parties will study the prospects for cooperation in the field of prospecting, exploration and production of hydrocarbon raw materials on the territory of Iran.
