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DJ ENERGY FORUM:Iran, India, Pakistan To Meet On Gas Pipeline(Comtex Business Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)DOHA, Apr 22, 2006 (Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex) --Oil ministers from India, Iran and Pakistan are expected to meet Saturday to discuss the proposed pipeline that will bring natural gas from Iran via Pakistan to India, an Iranian official said. The ministers are in Doha for the 10th International Energy Forum, which brings together policymakers from oil producers and consuming nations. Against a backdrop of growing U.S. concerns over Iran's nuclear ambitions, the energy ministers of India, Pakistan and Iran have said they will continue to pursue a natural gas pipeline linking the three countries. The trilateral gas pipeline project was first proposed by Iran about a decade ago. It wants to develop outlets for its large proven natural gas reserves, estimated at 812 trillion cubic feet. If the project is realized, India could initially buy up to 60 million cubic meters of gas a day from Iran, while Pakistan could buy up to 30 million cubic meters a day. Indian officials say if everything goes well, the pipeline could become a reality by 2011. The proposed 2,600-kilometer pipeline to India that will pass through Pakistan is expected to be able to handle 150 million cubic meters of gas a day. Building it will cost around $8 billion. A meeting here would mark the first time the new Indian minister Murli Deora will meet his Iranian counterpart Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh and his first major interaction with global oil and gas producers and other large consumers. Former Indian petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar had close ties to Iran and was an enthusiastic supporter of cross-border pipelines across the region. -By Sally Jones, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842 9347; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires 04-22-06 0137ET |