Iran dismisses canceling gas pipeline project with Pakistan

Earlier, Pakistani media outlets reported that Iran has unilaterally ended the government - to - government cooperation agreement with Pakistan, and after this decision the IP gas pipeline project has become unfeasible.

The Islamic Republic’s oil ministry announced that despite some differences on the issue, the Iranian side is committed to continue cooperation to finalize the project, the oil ministry’s PR department said.

A high - ranking Pakistani delegation is due to visit Iran in the new future to discuss accelerating the project’s implementation, according to the report.

The IP gas pipeline is projected to cost $۱.۲-۱.۵ billion and would enable to export ۲۱.۵ million cubic meters of Iranian natural gas to Pakistan on a daily basis.

Iran has already built ۹۰۰ kilometers of the pipeline on its own soil and is waiting for the Pakistani side’s ۷۰۰ - kilometre section to be constructed.

However, Pakistan has made little progress on laying its section of the long planned pipeline; largely due to lack of funds for the costly project and the U. S pressure to drop it.

Pakistan will have to pay a penalty if it fails to lay the pipeline within its territory by December this year.