Iran and Pakistan to hold IPI talks

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- The governments of Pakistan and Iran have scheduled further talks on a natural gas pipeline from the South Pars field and oil sales on deferred payments.

Pakistan has sought oil from Iran on a 90-day deferred payment schedule. Iranian officials concurred with the request earlier this week, saying the move would help Islamabad deal with a balance-of-payment crisis.

Markets in Pakistan are in a sharp decline, giving up 30 percent of their total value in December. The International Monetary Fund offered $7.6 billion credit in an effort to prop up the declining economy.

Officials in Islamabad said further talks on the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline were scheduled in Pakistan in the next few weeks, with talks centering on a pricing mechanism for the gas, the Press Trust of India reported Friday.

Pakistan offered to buy up the Indian share in the $7 billion IPI pipeline as tensions between the two nuclear nations simmer in the wake of the November attacks in Mumbai.

Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari will lead the delegation to Islamabad to visit with Pakistan's top energy adviser, Asim Hussain.

Pakistan already imports oil from Iran on a 30-day deferred payment. The 90-day schedule allows Iran to export some 30,000 barrels of oil per day to Pakistan.