Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.8/ Trend F.Karimov/
Iran is ready to negotiate with India and Pakistan on oil and gas deals with the two countries to gain a win-win solution, the Mehr News Agency quoted the international affairs director of the National Iranian Oil Company Masour Moazzami as saying.
"We expect the India government to have a better understanding about Iran's situation and take steps toward improving bilateral economic ties," he said.
He also referred to the planned visit of a Pakistani gas delegation to Iran to discuss issues relating to the IR gas pipeline project saying the Iranian Oil Ministry is interested in expanding cooperation with Pakistan.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources of Pakistan is to visit Iran on October 10 to discuss issues relating to Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project, Business Recorder reported.
A senior Petroleum Ministry official told the Business Recorder on Saturday that the Pakistani delegation will also deliberate with Iranian authorities on the possibility of fully financing the project.
The $1.5 billion IP project has been lingering since 1995 when Iran and Pakistan signed a memorandum of understating (MoU) to lay the pipeline. Under the accord signed in June 2010, Iran will provide about 750 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) to Pakistan for 25 years. The deal can be extended by five years and the volume may go up to one billion cubic feet per day (BCFD).
"We are going to Iran to renegotiate financing of the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project and will also request that the Iranian authorities extend the IP gas project deadline from December 2014 to a mutually agreed time frame," Petroleum Ministry officials said.
"Our main concern is US sanctions against Iran which has so far prevented Pakistan initiating the project. Once US sanctions against Iran are lifted or relaxed, the laying of pipeline will be carried out within a year as all other important tasks relating to the project have been completed," the official said.
Meanwhile, highly placed sources in the Oil and Natural Gas Ministry of India said that Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh has conveyed to the Indian government that they would not accept full rupee payment for crude oil imports as agreed in July this year and that India would have to explore paying the rest of the amount through the euro currency.
In addition, Iran has also conveyed through Indian diplomats in Tehran that it was also withdrawing the offer of a production sharing contract (PSC) for the development of the Frazad-B gas fields to the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh Limited (OVL)-led consortium as the present conditions were not acceptable to the new government.
Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily had rolled out a plan for saving around $8.47 billion in crude oil imports by stepping up imports from Iran.
"Iran has stopped issuing invoices for full rupee payment to oil companies for the import of crude oil and now has reverted to a 45 per cent rupee payment system. It wants India to consider the balance of the 55 per cent payment through the euro or some other currency mechanism. India will not come under strain on this account as Iraq has offered to fill in the gap for supply of crude oil, but then an outflow of dollars will happen. This development is totally unexpected for us," a senior official of the Petroleum Ministry said.