Pak-Iran gas pipeline to be complete by 2013

[Devil Soul]

Pak-Iran gas pipeline to be complete by 2013
By Qamar Zaman / Zahid Gishkori
Published: October 28, 2011

ISLAMABAD: Dispelling impressions of external pressure to shelve the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain informed the Senate that it would be completed by 2013, one year ahead of schedule.
Hussain said, “First gas flow is targeted by the end of 2014.” The estimated cost is $1.5 billion, but it will be firmed up after completion of a bankable feasibility study. Initial information for financing the project has been exchanged with international investors from China, Russia and the Middle East, he added. The Turkmenistan gas pipeline project has also taken a great leap forward after nearly a decade and the gas supply and purchase agreement will be signed on November 15. Major components of the project including tender for pipes and compressors will be floated this month, said the petroleum minister.
He said the government would introduce a new petroleum exploration and production policy to provide additional incentives to investors for exploration of oil and gas in the country. These incentives, he added, would compensate for risk taken by companies for doing business in the present environment.
Government introduces money bills
The government has tabled the Petroleum Levy Amendment Bill, 2011 and Gas Infrastructure Development Cess Bill, 2011” in the Senate amid criticism from the opposition on the imposition of gas surcharge on consumers. The petroleum levy was introduced in the National Assembly when the Senate was not in session.
According to an explanatory statement, the Iran-Pakistan and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline projects were being pursued to increase supply and a surcharge was necessary to develop the required infrastructure. The government would otherwise be forced to import liquid fuels which are more expensive than gas. PML-N’s parliamentary leader in the Senate and former finance minister Ishaq Dar said the bills should not have been introduced as money bills, since they read like a mini-budget.
The bill on petroleum levy states that the levy is payable as mentioned in the fifth schedule along with the applicable rates, but keeping in view the need to revise the rates in line with international prices and other relevant considerations, it is necessary to revive section 7 in its original form, and omit the fifth schedule from the constitution.
Senate Chairman Dr Farooq H Naek has asked the State Bank of Pakistan to extend the deadline for exchange of the old Rs500 notes.
Dua for Turkish earthquake victims
The house offered dua for Turkey’s earthquake victims at Senator Tariq Azeem’s request.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 28th, 2011.

 

[shuntmaster]

Post-Iran deal fiasco, India gets Israel’s gas offer

NEW DELHI: Israel, which suddenly finds itself flush with natural gas, has offered to export it to India. The offer was made by Israeli finance minister Yuval Steinitz to the Indian government during his visit here last week. In his conversations with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, Steinitz is believed to have said that Israel was looking to export gas to India.

According to sources, the two countries will be setting up committees to do a feasibility survey of the offer. The discussions are expected to intensify during a rare visit by foreign minister SM Krishna to Israel in early January.

India sources most of its natural gas from Qatar and Oman. Iran, which could have been a major supplier of LNG, cancelled a huge deal to India after it had been signed, following India's vote against its nuclear programme in the IAEA. A gas pipeline from Iran to India via Pakistan too has run aground on security considerations. Within the country, India's much hyped Krishna-Godavari gas basin has run into trouble after disagreement over pricing resulted in a drop in production. So India is in the market for big gas flows.

Israel, which had been energy deficient for decades and locked in potentially unstable energy relationships with Arab countries that have been bitterly opposed to it, stumbled on a bonanza when huge quantities of natural gas were discovered off its northern coast. Gas is expected to start flowing from the Tamar field in 2013 and from the Leviathan in 2016. Varying estimates give Israel control over some 400 bcm of gas. It promises to reduce Israel's dependence on Arab states like Egypt and Jordan and offers the prospects of billions of dollars in revenue.

Israel has already started the process of picking out export routes to Europe, through Greece and Cyprus. In the east, energy-hungry India offers the best market that is also free from political troubles for both countries.

Israel and India have grown closer in the past decade through a strategic partnership that includes defence, count-terrorism and intelligence. It has also flourished despite the fact that India has strong traditional relations with the Arab world.

In the early part of this decade, there was talk of a Medstream pipeline carrying gas and oil from Turkey though Israel which would be bound for India. But with Israel-Turkey relationship deteriorating significantly in the past couple of years, that pipeline has been shelved for the present.

India is not only energy-deficient, it is overly dependent for oil from West Asia, many countries of which are in the midst of unprecedented political ferment. The Indian growth story would be severely impacted in the event of higher energy prices, or a shortage brought about by external factors. For the past decade, Indian governments have been engaged in diversifying energy sources -- from nuclear to renewable, gas to wind, India wants it all.

 

[longbrained]

Post-Iran deal fiasco, India gets Israel’s gas offer

NEW DELHI: Israel, which suddenly finds itself flush with natural gas, has offered to export it to India. The offer was made by Israeli finance minister Yuval Steinitz to the Indian government during his visit here last week. In his conversations with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, Steinitz is believed to have said that Israel was looking to export gas to India....

That is a really good joke. First of that gas find by Israel is not that huge to make it viable to export to India. Secondly it is a shared field with Lebanon and Hizbullah will eat Israel alive if the Israelis as much as touch those fields.
See here how much Israel has gas: List of countries by natural gas proven reserves - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See here how much they produce: List of countries by natural gas production - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia