zawya
Bahrain mulling gas deal with Iran, Qatar: report
02 August 2004
Tehran — Bahrain plans to sign agreements with Iran and Qatar next year for
the purchase of gas, a Bahraini press report said, citing a finance ministry
official.
The projects involve pipe laying under the Persian Gulf, which is expected
to finish by 2009, Bahrain Tribune said on its website, quoting
Undersecretary for Finance and National Economy, Shaikh Ibrahim bin Khalifa
al-Khalifa.
It put the cost of the projects at one billion Bahraini dinars. Shaikh
Ibrahim said talks with Iran and Qatar were `progressing smoothly and would
be completed by the year-end`, Bahrain Tribune said.
It said, “Iran has affirmed its keenness to take part in the joint
investment project and provide investment options.”
The Itar-Tass news agency said last month that Iran had begun building a
140-km-long gas pipeline to Armenia. It said the two countries had signed an
agreement on the project worth around 120 million US dollars in May, when
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh visited Yerevan.
Under its provisions, Iran will be supplying 36 billion cubic meters of
natural gas to Armenia annually from 2007 through 2027. Itar-Tass, citing
OPEC sources in Vienna, said that the pipeline might be used to ship Iranian
gas to Georgia, Ukraine and farther on to Europe in the future.
Tehran has already a multi-billion-dollar contract with neighboring Turkey
to supply gas for 25 years. The gas flow was launched in December 2001 via a
2,577-kilometer pipeline, running from the northeastern city of Tabriz to
Ankara, which supplies gas from southern Iran near the Persian Gulf.
The contract has been a boon to Iran`s bid to become a sustainable gas
supplier to Turkey and Europe.
Looking for alternative markets, Tehran has held talks with the Persian Gulf
littoral states and the Central Asian nations for the sale of gas.
The country sits on the second largest proven gas reserves of the world
after Russia, which has been a headache for Iran by getting into, what is
feared to be, an unnecessary and costly competition.
© IRNA 2004
Article originally published by IRNA 02-Aug-04
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress