PM, Musharraf may discuss pipeline issue

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, SEPT. 11. The Petroleum Minister, Mr. Ram Naik, today said that India was interested in a ``guaranteed supply'' of gas from Iran, to be delivered by an inland pipeline passing through Pakistan. He was replying to a question by the Pakistani Petroleum Secretary, Mohammad Yusuf Abdullah, at the Asia-Pacific Petroleum Conference here.

Later, Mr. Naik told this correspondent that a ``joint survey'' was being conducted on the technical aspects of a pipeline. It had been undertaken at the behest of India and Iran after a meeting of the Joint Commission some three months ago. ``It (the survey) will take about six months,'' he said, saying India had no problems if the pipeline passed through Pakistan. The Petroleum Minister said the issue could come up for discussion during the scheduled meeting between the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, and the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, in New York.

Asked if the agreement on the pipeline would be between Iran and Pakistan or if it would involve India also, Mr. Naik said the issues had still to be sorted out. He was also hopeful of purchasing gas from Bangladesh after the elections in that country were over. ``There can be a specific decision on the issue after the elections are over.''

Earlier, addressing the conference, Mr. Naik criticised the oil- exporting countries for supporting the prices by regulating supplies. ``It has been counter-productive in a recession- affected global economy, resulting in lower oil consumption directly affecting the producing countries. Last year, we have seen the shift in fuel preference due to high oil prices.

``I would once again call upon all major oil-producing countries to address this issue urgently and take immediate measures to ensure stable prices at levels that are affordable by the developing countries.''

According to the Minister, India's consumption was set to increase to 3.9 million barrels per day by 2011-12 from about two million at present. ``India is one of the largest emerging gas markets in the Asia-Pacific (region). The fertiliser sector consumes about 41 per cent of the total gas supply whereas the power sector consumes about 39 per cent.

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