ISLAMABAD: A US official has said that the Pak-Iran gas pipeline project is still to be ‘judged’ and it is certainly ‘very favourable time’ for Pakistan to be in the international market to purchase natural gas.

Talking to journalists here on Monday, Jonathan Elkind, Assistant Secretary for International Affairs in the US Department of Energy, said that significant amount of natural gas was available in the market at a low price and Pakistan might soon enter into an agreement with a major international supplier. He said that Pakistan had a sizeable domestic resource base for natural gas which had not been developed.

He said LNG was part of the solution to the energy crisis but should not be considered as the only option. “It is up to Pakistan to decide about the share of LNG in its energy demand.”

Mr Elkind is visiting Pakistan for the launch of a new phase of US-Pakistan cooperation in energy. The collaboration called ‘US-Pakistan Clean Energy Partnership’ was agreed during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Washington in October last year.

“Our work this week kicks off a new element of collaboration, we will be looking at a diverse list of specific energy issues, including integrated energy planning, renewable energy, energy efficiency, development of Pakistan’s electric power grid system and natural gas,” the US official said.

The already enunciated objective of the US-Pakistan clean energy partnership was to add 3,000MW capacity to the national grid, he added.

The US experts will be working closely with the ministries of petroleum and natural resources, water and power, the planning commission, Ogra, Wapda and regulatory authorities.

Mr Elkind said the $3 million programme would support Pakistan’s ability to attract its own investment from domestic and international sources.

He said USAID, State Department, Overseas Private Investment Corporation and other partners were actively engaged in Pakistan and the entire focus was on helping it to bring additional capacity to its energy mix. “As a result of combined efforts, an additional 1,700MW will be brought into the line under the clean energy project.”

About investment in the energy sector, the US official said there was more than enough interest of investors from a number of sources, including from the United States.

The US Energy Department delegation, led by Mr Elkind, called on Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal.

During the meeting, the minister said, “the integrated energy management model is critical for us” and Pakistan would closely work with the US for its development to ensure efficiency and management in the energy sector.

“Pakistan can benefit from the US expertise to enhance capacity and improve efficiency in the power sector.”

Mr Iqbal said that Pakistan not only faced the energy shortage but also needed to upgrade its electricity transmission and distribution system in order to sustain the additional power. The country should introduce structural reforms in the energy sector to reduce line losses, he added.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2016