A Pakistani official said importing Iranian gas through the planned Iran-Pakistan-India "peace" pipeline will save the country about $5 million a day, Pakistan's Dawn.com news Web site reports Monday.
The average price of Iran's gas through the IPI line would be $9.16 per million British thermal units, or BTU, for delivery at the Multan station in central Pakistan, while its furnace oil equivalent, which Pakistan usually uses for electricity generation, costs $12.56 per million BTU, Dawn cites Asim Hussain, petroleum adviser to Pakistan's prime minister as saying on Sunday.
Hussain told a press conference that Pakistan is facing an energy crisis and heading towards a severe gas shortage, and the IPI pipeline will help meet demand and reduce consumption of furnace oil, reports Dawn.
Pakistan is slated to receive 750 million cubic feet a day of gas through the pipeline to generate 4,600 megawatts of electricity, according to Dawn.
The estimated construction cost for Pakistan's 785-kilometer section of the 42-inch diameter pipeline is $1.24 billion, Dawn says, citing a report prepared by Inter State Gas Systems.
Germany's ILF Consulting Engineers will design the pipeline, reports Dawn.