The country offered to export petrol and diesel to Pakistan and said its domestic refineries might even consider building a pipeline if Pakistan provides long-term guarantees.
“India mooted the proposal of exporting petroleum products to Pakistan. They have shown interest. In the next few weeks, we will prepare the detail,” Indian oil minister Jaipal Reddy said on Wednesday, after a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, Dr Asim Hussain.
While Pakistan does allow import of diesel from India, it bans import of petrol and other petroleum products. Indian refineries, however, have not been able to export diesel to Pakistan since it gets the fuel at a discounted price from Gulf countries, like Kuwait.
Pakistan’s main advantage in importing petrol and petroleum products from India will be the savings in freight cost since several Indian refineries are located close to the border, Reddy said.
He added that his country is ready to export such products by road, rail and by sea routes and if the Pakistani government offers a long-term guarantee, Indian refineries would consider constructing product pipelines.
TAPI pipeline
The neighbouring countries also agreed to a uniform transit fee for ferrying natural gas through the proposed $7.6 billion pipeline from Turkmenistan.
“Pakistan agreed in principle that whatever transit fee formula is eventually settled between India and Afghanistan would also be acceptable to it, subject to approval of competent authorities,” said a statement issued by the Indian side after a meeting between the two petroleum ministers.
The 1,700-kilometre TAPI pipeline, aims to transport over 30 billion cubic metres of gas annually from the Dauletabad gas fields in southeast Turkmenistan to India and Pakistan via Afghanistan.
Gas from Iran
Reddy also indicated that an earlier plan for a pipeline to carry gas from Iran to Pakistan and then India was now on the backburner.
“We do what is more easily possible,” Reddy said, referring to the Turkmenistan project.
Washington, which has spearheaded sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, favours the TAPI pipeline and has pressured both India and Pakistan to hold off on a pipeline deal with Tehran.
Reddy said New Delhi was continuing to import oil from Iran and was not bound by new sanctions imposed by the European Union on the Islamic Republic earlier this week.
“We, as a member of the UN, are obliged to follow UN sanctions. Other sanctions imposed by big blocs of countries – we can have some freedom there,” Reddy said.
Iran is India’s second-largest oil supplier after Saudi Arabia.
(With additional input from AFP)
Published in The Express Tribune, January 26th, 2012.
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