India offers to build pipeline to Wagah to export oil to Pakistan
29 May 2012
India has offered to build a pipeline to the Wagah land border to supply 50MT of (petroleum, oil and lubricant) POL products annually to meet Pakistan's requirement, media reports said today.
The offer came during talks yesterday between a visiting Indian delegation led by P Kalyanasundaram, director (international cooperation) in the petroleum ministry, and a Pakistani team headed by joint secretary Shabbir Ahmed of Pakistan's petroleum ministry.
The Indian team also met Pakistan petroleum minister Asim Hussain, who said Pakistan was interested in importing furnace oil and diesel.
India offered to build a pipeline to the Wagah border for export of oil to meet all of Pakistan's needs if it was assured of purchase of large quantities over the long run, The Express Tribune quoted its sources as saying.
According to officials, Pakistan could get oil supplies from India at prices that were 30 per cent cheaper due to low transportation costs.
The newspaper reported that India made a "surprise offer" to cater to all of Pakistan's petroleum needs with the export of 50 million tonnes of POL products per annum, at prices lower than that paid by Pakistan for imports from the Gulf.
The Express Tribune, citing an unnamed Pakistani official said the two countries were expected to sign an MoU relating to import of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from India.
"India has told us that it has a surplus capacity of 50 million tonnes of oil," the newspaper quoted the official as saying.