Pakistan Stream able to pump not only regasified LNG, but also gas from Iran and Turkmenistan

MOSCOW. Jan 18 (Interfax) - The Pakistan Stream gas pipeline will be able to transport gas from various sources, both regasified liquefied gas and pipeline gas from Iran or Turkmenistan, Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said in an interview with Pakistan's The Nation newspaper ahead of a meeting of the intergovernmental commission.

The pipeline is significant for both Russia and Pakistan. The Russian government pays close attention to it, Shulginov said.

"The approach to the implementation of such projects has to be comprehensive, it means not only a pipeline but also a source of gas for it. And we are currently discussing the project both from the point of view of transporting regasified gas and pipeline gas - from Iran or coming through TAPI. It is crucial to carefully study all the options available and come to the most transparent and economically justified one," Shulginov said.

"I believe we will work out a road map on this project in the nearest future. The relevant documents were finalized by the working groups of the two countries last February. This issue will certainly be raised at a meeting of the intergovernmental commission," he said.

Russia and Pakistan signed an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the North-South gas pipeline from Karachi to Lahore in 2015. The agreement calls for building a 1,100-km pipeline capable of carrying 12.3 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The pipeline is supposed to link liquefied natural gas terminals in the ports of Karachi and Gwadar in southern Pakistan with power plants and industrial gas consumers in Lahore in the north of the country.

Pakistan produced 32.7 bcm of gas and consumed 44.8 bcm in 2021, importing more than 12 bcm as LNG to cover the difference.

Commenting in the prospects for supplying Russian LNG to Pakistan, Shulginov said most Russian LNG was sold via long-term contracts. "However, there are spot volumes, their supply can be negotiated, too. We are aiming at increasing our total annual production of LNG up to 100 million tonnes by 2030. In our opinion, this is the additional volume which can be discussed. Especially if we take into account the increasing demand for gas in Pakistan," he said.