More dates on signing for Peace Pipeline

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 11 (UPI) -- Outstanding issues between Pakistan and Iran on the so-called Peace Pipeline are resolved and both parties are set for final agreements, senior officials said.

A senior Pakistani official speaking to the Associated Press of Pakistan said on condition of anonymity that a signing ceremony for the pipeline from Iran's South Pars gas field could happen next week.

"All matters relating to export of Iranian natural gas to Pakistan through Peace Pipeline have been finalized and both the parties are set to sign the project," the official said.

Envisioned in the 1990s, the Peace Pipeline would move natural gas from the giant South Pars gas complex in the Persian Gulf to markets in Pakistan and India. Islamabad and Tehran in 2009 signed a 25-year agreement on gas supplies related to the project.

Both sides have kicked around various dates for final agreements on the project. Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency reported this week that a March 9 date was rescheduled for March 31.

India's interest in the project has been fluid. Murli Deora, the Indian energy minister, said Tuesday, however, that his country was interested in the project as well as a rival Western-backed gas pipeline from Turkmenistan.