Work on 700-km pipeline launched to import LNG from China

If sanctions are removed in full, Pakistan could in theory move forward with implementing a bilateral natural gas pipeline project with Iran.

The Chinese and Pakistani governments will jointly fund the pipeline which will pass through the mountainous Himalayan valleys, Khaqan added.

“We need gas. Iran has the world’s second-largest gas reserves”, said Mr Abbasi.

He said Pakistan has been trying to overcome its energy crisis by importing gas from Iran but sanctions on Iran had hampered the work on the project.

He said the Iranian pipeline will eventually provide a peak of 750 million ft/d of gas once it is fully operational by 2020.

Abbasi was cited by the Financial Times as saying that the country presently suffers from a deficit of 2 billion ft of gas per day, which rises to 2.5 billion ft per day during winter months. He said the Gwadar port would be the central hub for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which would allow western China to gain access to warm waters.

According to Abbasi, at least 250 million ft, which accounts for one-third of the pipeline’s capacity, is likely to start flowing within 2017.

Talking to the state-run radio, he reminded that despite the global pressure in the past, Pakistan did not withdrew from the project.

Iran, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, plus Germany, finalized a deal July 14 that restricts Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for relief from sanctions targeting its energy sector.