Iran, India mulling $4.5bn undersea gas pipeline

Tehran and New Delhi are in talks to build an undersea gas pipeline as part of efforts to export natural gas to India.

The $4.5 billion pipeline will take natural gas from southern Iran via Oman Sea and Indian Ocean to Gujarat state in western India.

Managing Director of National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC), Alireza Kameli said the pipeline will carry 31.5 million standard cubic meters gas per day.

“Negotiations are under serious consideration,” the Economic Times quoted him as saying on Monday.

The pipeline is planned to be built within two years following the necessary approvals and after a gas sale and purchase agreement (GSPA) is signed, the Iranian official reportedly said at the World Energy Policy Summit in New Delhi.

Kameli also said Iran has already been in talks with New Delhi-based South Asia Gas Enterprise Pvt Ltd (SAGE) for building the 1,400 kilometer pipeline.

According to the report by the Economic Times, SAGE will lay the 1,400-km pipeline bypassing the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Pakistan.

“SAGE will not be buying gas from Iran. It will lead an international consortium for building the pipeline,” SAGE Director Subhodh Kumar Jain said.

The company will next year conduct a FEED study and tie-up financing. “SBI Caps is advising us on the project,” he noted.