India to forge ahead in energy ties with Iran

Tuesday, 01 February 2005, 20:30 IST
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WASHINGTON: India's Petroleum Minister Mani Shanker Aiyar has said his country is going "full steam ahead" in developing its relations with Iran despite differences of opinion among the world community how it should treat the country. "We are conscious about differences in perspectives the world over on how the world should treat Iran. We are going full steam ahead in developing our relationship with Iran in hydrocarbons," Aiyar said here on his way to a roadshow in Houston to seek participation of global majors in the fifth round of exploration blocks being offered by India. Under the fifth round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP-V), import-dependent India is offering 20 blocks for exploration of oil and gas including six deepwater blocks in the Kerala-Konkan, Mahanadi, Andaman-Nicobar and Krishna-Godavari basins. India has so far given out 90 blocks for exploration under the first four rounds of NELP with several promising discoveries of oil and gas by Cairn Energy and Reliance Industries among others. "We are moving ahead on a broad front. I don't think we are going to be easily thwarted," he said in response to a question whether there was US pressure on how to deal with Iran in the light of its reported nuclear programme. Aiyar said India and Iran were engaged in talks on bringing gas through a pipeline passing through Pakistan. On the reports that China was forging ahead of India in ensuring its energy security by signing up deals worldwide, the minister said, "I had long and detailed talks with Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, who is in charge of the hydrocarbon sector in China. We agreed that there would be many circumstances where India and China would cooperate. "There is a wide scope of working together rather than competing with each other. Sino-Indian cooperation is large and deep." He said a joint task force between his ministry and the ministry of external affairs would be set up to prepare for his likely visit to China later this year.
Source: IANS
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