Iran considers other use for Pakistani gas pipeline

Outgoing Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Ali Majedi said his country might be able to find another use for a gas pipeline extending toward the Pakistani border.

Iran started building a natural gas pipeline to Pakistan in 2008. Envisioned as a trilateral pipeline with India as a terminal point, the project has been complicated by sanctions pressure on Iran.

Majedi, who is leaving his post to become the Iranian envoy to Germany, told the Oil Ministry's news website Shana the pipeline could still be used.

"The Pakistanis say incessantly that they really want to receive Iran's gas, but if they decide to forgo the project, the pipeline could be used for other purposes," he said Sunday.

Pakistan is facing energy reliability issues because of aging infrastructure, but has foreign lender support for renewable energy and liquefied natural gas port development projects.

Iran said it has most of the 775-mile section of the pipeline in its territory completed. Pakistan was slated to get 21 million cubic feet of natural gas per day from the project.

Iran last year pulled out of a finance deal for Pakistan because of sanctions pressure.