September 09, 2006	Saturday	Sha'aban 15, 1427

NEW DELHI, Sept 8: UK-based consultancy Gaffney, Cline & Associates has been appointed to advise on the price of Iranian natural gas to be supplied to India and Pakistan through a proposed pipeline, an Indian official told Reuters on Friday.

“We (India, Pakistan and Iran) have appointed Gaffney, Cline & Associates to advise us on the issue of gas pricing,” the official told Reuters.

Last month, India, Pakistan and Iran decided to appoint a consultant after they were unable to agree on a gas price during two days of talks.

Gaffney, an independent international energy consulting firm, declined to comment.

The official said representatives of the three countries would soon meet Gaffney officials to brief them on the issue. The consultant is expected to submit its report in October.

“Once the report is validated by the technical group of the three countries, secretary-level talks will be held in November,” he said.

The multi-billion dollar pipeline project, conceived more than a decade ago, has been slowed by hostility between India and Pakistan and, more recently, growing US opposition to Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.

Iran has the second-largest natural gas reserves in the world behind Russia -- about 940-trillion cubic feet -- while India and Pakistan are growing Asian economies scrambling to find energy to feed industrial expansion.—Reuters