ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 21 (UPI) -- A natural gas pipeline from the South Pars gas field in Iran to Pakistan is a national priority for Islamabad, the Pakistani foreign minister said.
Iran and Pakistan put the final touches on agreement for a $7.6 billion gas pipeline in early June.
First gas deliveries through the pipeline are expected by 2015. Pakistan has contracted 750,000 cubic feet of gas per day through the pipeline under the terms of the 25-year deal.
Pakistan expects to save $1 billion each year in energy costs when the pipeline goes into service.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Mehmood Qureshi said during a weekend meeting with Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, that energy needs for his country were a priority and the pipeline deal was intact, the Associated Press of Pakistan reports.
He added that a new set of sanctions imposed on Iran at the U.N. Security Council days after the bilateral pipeline agreement would not influence the project.
Holbrooke was quoted in the Pakistani Daily Times as saying that Washington respected Pakistan's independence but unilateral developments could create problems.
"Pakistan has an obvious, major energy problem and we are sympathetic to that but in regards to a specific project, legislation is being prepared (in Washington) that may apply," he said.
