Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is traveling to Tehran on Wednesday to finalize a major deal for Iran to build an oil refinery in its eastern neighbor.
"The president has been urging for further strengthening of the bilateral relations [with Iran] and for early completion of the mega projects between the two countries and (he) expressed the hope that the visit would lend further impetus to the efforts aimed at early completion of the bilateral projects," Zardari spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Pakistani president is also expected to hold talks with the Iranian officials on various regional and bilateral issues.
According to official sources, Zardari plans to sign an oil refinery deal worth 4 billion dollars with Tehran, while also discussing the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project that will carry Iran’s natural gas to its eastern neighbor.
"The multi-billion-dollar oil facility will produce about 400,000 barrels per day [of various oil products]," an official at Pakistan's Finance Ministry said on condition of anonymity, adding, "This production capacity is beyond our needs."
Iran has agreed to help Pakistan set up an oil refinery in Gwadar, a town off the country's southern coast, the official added.
On January 29, an Iranian deputy oil minister said Tehran would also finance and help build the 700-kilometer tranche of the IP gas pipeline on the Pakistani side.
“Aside from a 250-million-dollar loan, Iran will also provide the supplies and equipment necessary for the construction of the part of the pipeline on Pakistani soil,” Javad Owji, who is also managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company, said.
This is while Pakistan has constantly dismissed rumors that it might pull out of the project amid efforts by the United States to convince the country to abandon the pipeline.
Iran has already built more than 900 kilometers of the pipeline on its soil.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Pakistan president to visit Iran to sign oil refinery deal
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is traveling to Tehran on Wednesday to finalize a major deal for Iran to build an oil refinery in its eastern neighbor.
"The president has been urging for further strengthening of the bilateral relations [with Iran] and for early completion of the mega projects between the two countries and (he) expressed the hope that the visit would lend further impetus to the efforts aimed at early completion of the bilateral projects," Zardari spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Pakistani president is also expected to hold talks with the Iranian officials on various regional and bilateral issues.
According to official sources, Zardari plans to sign an oil refinery deal worth 4 billion dollars with Tehran, while also discussing the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project that will carry Iran’s natural gas to its eastern neighbor.
"The multi-billion-dollar oil facility will produce about 400,000 barrels per day [of various oil products]," an official at Pakistan's Finance Ministry said on condition of anonymity, adding, "This production capacity is beyond our needs."
Iran has agreed to help Pakistan set up an oil refinery in Gwadar, a town off the country's southern coast, the official added.
On January 29, an Iranian deputy oil minister said Tehran would also finance and help build the 700-kilometer tranche of the IP gas pipeline on the Pakistani side.
“Aside from a 250-million-dollar loan, Iran will also provide the supplies and equipment necessary for the construction of the part of the pipeline on Pakistani soil,” Javad Owji, who is also managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company, said.
This is while Pakistan has constantly dismissed rumors that it might pull out of the project amid efforts by the United States to convince the country to abandon the pipeline.
Iran has already built more than 900 kilometers of the pipeline on its soil.
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