India's planned gas pipeline project with Iran is independent of the South Asian nation's relations with any other country, including the U.S., Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said. Iran and India said last month they were ''determined'' to sign a contract to build a natural-gas pipeline via Pakistan by June 30.
Oil & Natural Gas Corp. said it found fuel reserves in Iran, the second-largest OPEC producer, potentially helping meet India's rising energy needs.
The natural-gas pipeline, which will mainly transfer gas from Iran's South and North Pars offshore fields in the Persian Gulf, will initially carry 60 million cubic meters of gas per day, Iran's negotiator, Hojatollah Ghanimifard, said in a March 5 interview. The second phase should see the transfer of an additional 90 million cubic meters a day, he said.
The project has been in the planning stage for more than a decade.