TEHRAN(MNA):Amid Pakistan’s discovery of a gas field and Iran’s compensation demand from its neighboring country, the continuation of Pakistan’s joint project with Iran raises a question.
Pakistan is known as a country with an energy crisis and according to available statistics, it imports nearly three-quarters of its needed energy sources. But in recent days, news sources released reports of the discovery of large oil and gas reserves in Pakistan, with a senior Pakistani security official saying that if they are exploited immediately, the fate of Pakistan will change.
Commenting on recent developments, another Pakistani official said that the deposits could strengthen Pakistan’s blue water economy. He added that proposals for bidding and exploration are ongoing. The exploration process will likely start soon.
“If this is a gas reserve, it can replace LNG imports, and if these are oil reserves, we can substitute imported oil,” said former Ogra member Muhammad Arif.
The discovery of gas reserves and Pakistan’s efforts to obtain gas happened while it was supposed to build the Peace Pipeline and import gas from Iran by 2014. This project has been postponed for 10 years due to US sanctions against Iran. The two sides negotiated a 25-year contract for the construction of a 781-kilometer pipeline from Iran’s border to Pakistan’s Nawabshah. This pipeline was supposed to pass 665 km through Pakistan’s Balochistan province and 115 km through Sindh province. The pipeline has been built on more than 1,100 kilometers of Iran’s soil from the Pars gas field to the border region of Pakistan, while it has not been built on Pakistan’s soil for even a kilometer as of yet.
Despite its need for natural gas due to energy shortages, Pakistan has faced several challenges and has delayed its completion. But Iran has completed its share of the construction of the pipeline.
Pakistan must complete the part that passes through its territory by 2024, and if it fails to do so, it must pay Iran $18 billion in compensation.
Last year Tehran warned Islamabad that if it does not finish part of its project by March 2024, it will pursue the matter in an international court and would file a complaint to receive compensation. After this, Pakistan, to prevent facing losses, made decisions it had previously avoided.
Following the late Iranian president’s visit to Islamabad, former Iranian oil minister Javad Owji announced that Pakistan is setting contracts with various companies to accelerate this issue.
Owji said that with the measures that will be taken and according to the international agreement signed between Iran and Pakistan, Tehran hopes to witness the export of gas to Pakistan in President Raeisi’s administration, an issue that failed to happen.
Pakistani authorities have announced in recent days that Iran has decided to file a complaint and receive compensation because the Pakistanis have not done anything to complete this project.
American sanctions against Iran and Washington’s pressure on Islamabad have been declared as one of the main reasons for the delay in completing this pipeline by Pakistan. The gas that Pakistan is going to import from Iran through this pipeline is essential for the country’s energy security. Now the Pakistanis should decide whether they want to pay a fine after discovering a gas field or look for a way to avoid paying compensation and continue the project with Iran.
