NEW DELHI, 16 January 2007 — Signaling New Delhi’s readiness to go ahead with negotiations with Tehran for liquefied natural gas and the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, Oil Minister Murli Deora said yesterday India was ready to pay more if Iran honors the existing contract of five million tons.
“We have been telling (Tehran) they should honor the first contract and then we could talk about the price,” Deora said.
Deora said that India has agreed to pay $22 billion for five million tons of LNG per year for 25 years starting in 2010, and would consider higher prices for purchases over this amount.
“We need much more gas than this,” said Deora. “Any negotiations over and above the current level can be worked out at higher prices.”
The minister made his comments at the sidelines of the inaugural ceremony of the Oil and Gas Conservation Fortnight. Oil ministers of Iran, Nigeria, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Sudan, Romania, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Yemen will participate in the International Oil and Gas Conference, Petrotech 2007, which begins today.
Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi arrives here today to attend the Petrotech conference. The week will also be marked by visit of Saudi Minister of Commerce and Industry Hashim Yamani. Heading a 100-member high-profile delegation, Yamani will be here to attend a Joint Economic Commission meeting on Jan. 18.
While India and Iran have had several discussions, they have yet to reach a final agreement on the price. “We are constantly in touch with them. Unfortunately, the discussions have not been fruitful,” Deora said. The issue will figure in Deora’s talks with Iranian Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh later this week. They will also discuss the Iran-India-Pakistan gas pipeline project. Secretary-level talks on pricing of gas are to be held in Tehran on Jan. 20-21. Inaugurating the national level observation of Oil & Gas Conservation Fortnight Deora emphasized the need for conserving oil and gas as for these vital resources the country is heavily import dependent.