Bahrain moves on gas imports from Iran

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TEHRAN, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Bahrain is expected to finalize a deal to import natural gas from the Iranian South Pars gas field in the early part of next year, officials said Tuesday.

Bahraini Oil Minister Abdul Hussein Mirza said developing a pipeline from South Pars may take a few years, but the final details to import about 1 billion cubic feet per day from Iran were moving forward, the Iranian Press TV reported.

"The (pipeline) project may take more than four years to complete, and Iran has agreed in principle to sell 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day to Bahrain," the oil minister said.

The report suggested Bahrain had informed Washington that its energy needs outweighed any diplomatic concerns as domestic production was not enough to meet Bahraini development.

Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa in October said his country faces a looming energy crisis if it doesn't move to secure additional resources.

"Should we keep ourselves at risk of not having enough power to run our country?" he asked. "No, we will not do it, and Iran is our neighbor and we should tell the Iranians this is a deal."