NEW DELHI, March 9: Officials from India, Pakistan and Iran will meet in Tehran next week to discuss a pipeline project for the export of Iranian natural gas to South Asia, an Indian oil ministry official said.

The 2,600-kilometre pipeline, valued at over $7bn, was first proposed in 1994 but progress has been slowed by tensions between India and Pakistan.

“Petroleum Secretary M.S. Srinivasan will lead the Indian delegation, which will arrive in Iran on Monday for three days of official talks,” the official said.

India, which imports 70 per cent of the oil it consumes, is keen to import natural gas to meet growing energy needs.

The pipeline would supply gas from the massive South Pars offshore fields.

India plans to initially draw 60 million cubic metres (of gas from the pipeline and increase the quantity to 90 million cubic metres within two to three years.

Pakistan has estimated its initial demand at 30 million cubic metres which would double by 2013.

The United States, an increasingly close ally of India and leading critic of Iran, has made clear its objections to New Delhi buying gas from a country it accuses of supporting terrorism and attempting to make a nuclear bomb.—AFP