Undersea gas pipeline Project, Pak-Russia initiate feasibility study

Foreign office in early June revealed that Pakistan and Russia have finalized a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on conducting feasibility study for implementation of $10 billion undersea gas pipeline project.

During weekly briefing, spokesperson Foreign Office Dr Mohammad Faisal said that the purpose of MoU is to assist in providing support for the realization of the project. “Based on the results of the feasibility study, the two sides will take a decision for the future of the project,” he added.

The proposal for construction of undersea gas pipeline has been under consideration since 2017, he said, adding that the proposal involves Pakistan, Iran, Russia and India.

He, however, clarified that the proposed undersea gas pipeline project is a separate project and it has nothing to do with the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project.

Regarding the Pak-Russia energy project, he said that Pakistan and Russia are strong partners in the field of energy. The two countries have concluded various proposals in the energy sector including construction of North-South Gas Pipeline, import of LNG from Russia, installation of air mix plant, and establishing a 600MW combined cycle power plant etc, he added.

He further said that Pakistan and Russia are actively working towards enhancement and consolidation of their bilateral ties.

The experts are of the opinion that this project can bring prosperity to Pakistan as the LNG deal with Qatar is proving to be an expensive one for Pakistan. The point to note here is that Azerbaijan has recently finalized a $ 40bn gas pipeline project between Azerbaijan to Europe bypassing Russia.