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Pakistan Stream’s capacity to reach 16 bln cubic meters, says Russian energy chief

Earlier, it was announced that the capacity of the pipelint would be 12.4 bln cubic meters

YEKATERINBURG, November 26. /TASS/. The capacity of the Pakistan Stream gas pipeline may reach 16 bln cubic meters instead of the previously-announced 12.4 bln cubic meters, according to Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov who spoke at a meeting of the intergovernmental commission on trade cooperation with Pakistan.

"The flagship project is the construction of the Pakistan Stream gas pipeline from Karachi to Lahore spanning over 1,100 kilometers with the throughput capability of up to 16 bln cubic meters per year, which will connect LNG ports in Karachi with industrial gas consumers in the country’s north," he said.

"Hopefully, the shareholder agreement and the agreement on providing help to the project by the Pakistani government will be signed by February 15, 2022, as we had agreed on with the minister (Minister for Economic Affairs of Pakistan Omar Ayub Khan - TASS)," Shulginov added.

Russian companies can supply liquified natural gas for the project in the future, he noted. "We believe that today a decision has been made to move towards the start of the construction, and that there will be proposals from Novatek on LNG supplies," the minister said.

Omar Ayub Khan noted that Pakistan is ready to consider the participation of Novatek and Gazprom in the construction of the new regasification terminals for Pakistan Stream. "Two more private terminals will be required, there is no limit of intent here, so by all means, we are ready to discuss the construction of new terminals," he said, replying to a question on the matter.

"We suggest that the rates are good, and we expect the shareholder agreement on the implementation of the project to be signed in February, after which the search for bank financing will start," Shulginov concluded.

The intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the 1,100-km-long Pakistan Stream (formerly known as the North-South) gas pipeline with a capacity of 12.4 bln cubic meters of gas per year (which may be increased to 16 bln in the future) was signed by Russia and Pakistan in October 2015. The sides were supposed to sign commercial agreements in 2016, and it was planned to deliver the project by 2018. However, the project’s implementation had been rescheduled several times.

Shulginov and Pakistani Ambassador to Russia Shafqat Ali Khan signed a document enabling the start of the practical implementation of the Pakistan Stream gas pipeline construction project on May 28, 2021.