Iranian Natural Gas to Iraq and Syria and On to Europe
Iran, Iraq and Syria on Monday signed a natural gas contract for the transit of Iranian natural gas from the country's South Pars field via a 5,000-kilometer pipeline to Iraq and Syria, and from there to Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea and Europe.
The 10-billion-dollar agreement, said to be the biggest in the Middle East, was signed by Iran's Acting Oil Minister and Oil Ministers of Iraq and Syria [IRNA, 25 July].
Iraq, Syria and Lebanon will use between 30 to 40 million cubic meters of the natural gas daily between now and 2020. The pipeline daily capacity will be 110 million cubic meters. The project will take three to five years to be completed.
Let us hope that once completed and if completed, there will be a way of paying for the gas to Iran in hard currency.
ReplyDeleteIndia already owes Iran in excess of $5 Billion for unpaid oil. According to Reuters: http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/07/25/idINIndia-58428620110725
China owes Iran in excess of $30 Billion.
Both China and India are happy to keep Iran's money in their banks and try to get Iran involved in barter deals to sell their junk, or given yuan and rupees instead of hard currencies," the FT quoted one Iranian former official who chose to remain anonymous as saying. These non payments have contributed to the shortage of hard currency. Obviously some naiive would say that sanctions have little or no impact on the country! Dream on
Simply amazing the turnaround in Iraqi relations with Iran and Syria (both members of the resistance against US/Zionist hegemony) brought about by the 4 trillion dollar war and 30,000 casualties involved in the US war against Saddam and the subsequent war against the US military occupation. American neocons share the majority of responsibility for this dramatic turnaround.
ReplyDelete---"American neocons share the majority of responsibility for this dramatic turnaround"----
ReplyDeleteindeed it was American blundering that provided opportunity for Iran.
but the blundering has stopped and the Iranian opportunity has receded and Iranian influence in the Middle East crested more than a year back. Iran's ally in Syria is crumbling and that regime will be toast long before the pipeline can be completed.