Pakistan, Russia vow to finalise gas pipeline’s facilitation agreements

The Joint Technical Committee (JTC) of Pakistan and Russian on the Pak Stream Gas Pipeline (PSGP) concluded its fourth session here on Thursday, reaffirming their commitment towards the strategic project and finalizing the shareholders’ agreement (SHA) next month.

"Both sides have reaffirmed their unequivocal commitment towards the strategic project and resolved to finalize the SHA during the month of November as agreed earlier," a joint statement issued by the Petroleum Division said.

The technical level talks continued from October 25-28, during which the two sides discussed the draft SHA of the gas pipeline project.

The Pakistan side technical team was headed by Secretary Petroleum Division, Ministry of Energy Dr Arshad Mahmood. The meeting was also attended by senior officials of the Auditor General's Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Finance, Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, Inter-State Gas Systems, Government Holdings (Private) Limited and other officers from the Petroleum Division.

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The Russian side was headed by the Chief Executive Officer of a Russian nominated entity, Vladimir Shcherbatykh along with the other senior officials.

Having signed the heads of terms (HoT) in July this year, the parties held in-depth discussions covering all major issues pertaining to the SHA in a cordial and congenial environment and evolved consensus on key issues.

The Russian side arranged a meeting with the financial advisers (led by banks). The parties exchanged their views on the global best practices for financing similar infrastructure projects, and their experience in the Asian and global markets.

"The parties agreed to continue working on the draft SHA during the next week. The parties further agreed to resume negotiations in Islamabad from the week starting November 8, 2021," the statement said.

The Russian delegation appreciated Pakistan for hosting the meeting in a cordial atmosphere and support of its team in concluding the key issues of the agreement.

The PSGP project is the flagship project in bilateral relations between Pakistan and Russia that have been marked by mutual goodwill, friendly and amicable relations. Under the project, a 1,100-kilometer pipeline would be laid to transport 1.6 billion cubic feet per day of gas from Karachi to Lahore.