Pakistan, which is going ahead with a bilateral gas pipeline with Iran despite the US pressure, on Tuesday said that Tehran has agreed to provide $250 million for the project and export 80,000 barrels of crude oil a year to this country.
Petroleum Minister Asim Hussain said told a Parliamentary committee that Pakistan had sought $500 million for the pipeline but Iran agreed to provide only $250 million.
He also said that Iran had agreed to export 80,000 barrels of crude oil a year to Pakistan. A Pakistani delegation would visit Tehran in mid-March to discuss and finalise details related to the project.
The tender for building the pipeline would be issued next week, he said. Despite pressure from the US not to go ahead with the pipeline following sanctions on Iran by Western powers, Pakistani leaders, including President Asif Ali Zardari, have said they are committed to the project as it is necessary to meet the country's burgeoning energy needs. Russia has reportedly shown interest in constructing the pipeline.