(IRNA) - Director for International Affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Hojjatollah Ghanimifard voiced Tehran's readiness to play a leading role in meeting the energy needs of regional states.
Addressing the inaugural session of the fourth meeting of the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project's working committee, the official said that Iran, with the world's second biggest deposit of gas, is ready to play a leading role in supplying energy to regional states.
The two-day meeting, which began earlier Wednesday, is attended by representatives of the three states' oil and energy ministries.
Representatives of the three states will try to hammer out a price agreeable to all three for Iranian natural gas that is to be supplied to India via Pakistan through the pipeline.
Referring to the historical commonalties of Iran, Pakistan and India, Ghanimifard said that the three capitals would further demonstrate their cooperation and integration in the future through implementation of the project., reports Trend
"Iran, as a main source of energy in the present century, plays a key role in the development of countries," Ghanimifard said.
Progress of countries in terms of technology is closely related to their ability to access energy resources, added Ghanimifard, who is Iran's top negotiator in the tripartite meeting.
Implementation of the USD 7-billion pipeline project has been delayed because of differences between the three parties on pricing.
The current sessions are expected to focus on ways to resolve these differences.
Tehran has proposed a price equivalent to 10 percent of the price of Brent crude plus a fixed cost of USD 1.20 per million British thermal units (mBtu). At USD 50 per barrel, this would translate into a price of USD 6.20 per mBtu at the Iran-Pakistan border. Transport costs beyond that point would add to this price.
On the other side, New Delhi does not want to pay more than USD 4.25 per mBtu for the gas delivered through the 2,100-km line at its border.