The next meeting will involve engineers as well as legal and technical experts of the two nations

Experts from Iran and Pakistan have finalized a contract for a multi-billion-dollar gas export deal scheduled to be signed within a month.
Iranian oil minister’s special representative for Iran-India-Pakistan gas pipeline said that following three days of intensive talks, the content of the agreement was reread and some changes were made by the lawyers of the two nations. It was approved by the two parties, Hojjatollah Ghanimifard added, IRIB reported.
He elaborated that issues such as gas pressure and delivery location would be determined by the engineers of the two sides. And an agreement text on engineering operation should be drawn up and ratified within a month, the official added.
He underlined that once these are completed, the agreement would be ready for signing by officials of the two countries.
Also, managing director of National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC) said that the next meeting would involve engineers as well as legal and technical experts of the two nations, Fars news agency wrote.
Nosratollah Seifi explained that Asalouyeh-Iranshahr gas pipeline has witnessed a physical progress of 50 percent. The line will be used to transfer gas to Pakistan, he added.
The whole Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline is to extend 2,670 kilometers, of which 1,115 kilometers would be located in Iran, 705 kilometers in Pakistan and 850 kilometers in India. The pipeline would be completed by 2010 at a cost of over $7 billion.
Seifi continued that Pakistan has held a tender for laying the pipeline in its territory.
He pointed out that once the construction of the pipeline starts in Pakistan and India joins the IPI project, the pipeline would be evaluated again to determine whether it is economical and identify the best spots for installing pressure reinforcement stations.
He predicted that supplying gas to Pakistan would begin in late 2013.
According to him, Indian official had also declared their willingness to join the project.
He elaborated that Indian and Pakistani officials would hold a meeting in Islamabad in December to reach a consensus on transit fees.
As per early estimates, about 60 million cubic meters of gas is to be transferred per day from Iran to India via Pakistan. Pakistan will earn $600 million worth transit fees annually.
In addition, the pipeline would decrease gas import costs of India by $300 million per year.
Talks on the peace pipeline project began in 1994 but were stalled by tensions between India and Pakistan. Talks resumed early in 2004 along with peace moves between India and Pakistan but dragged because of New Delhi’s opposition to periodic price reviews.
An early October agreement between Iran and Pakistan marked a breakthrough in the long-lasting talks when they agreed to a periodic revision of gas prices every three years instead of a long-term fixed price.
The pricing formula, pushed by Iran, will be flexible and based on international market situation.

Mobarakeh Steel Complex and National Iranian Copper Industries Company currently occupy the top two slots respectively.

Latest statistics show that the number of companies worth over one billion dollars in Tehran Stock Exchange has reached 12.
Shares of eight firms are estimated between one and two billion dollars; while shares of two companies are worth more than five billion dollars.
One of the giants in Tehran bourse is Mobarakeh Steel Complex. The company broke the stock market stagnation in recent weeks. Value of its shares climbed to $6.7 billion last week, hamshahrionline.ir reported.
Experts contend that if Industry and Mine Ministry had not announced its decision to increase direct mining royalties, Mobarakeh shares might have touched seven billion dollars.
Mobarakeh Steel Company with shares worth $6.7 billion is the biggest in the bourse, followed by National Iranian Copper Industries Company (NICIC shares are worth $5.2 billion).
Mobarakeh Steel Complex and NICIC which currently occupy the top two slots respectively in the bourse are in strong competition with each other.
NICIC was the first state company to register as per Article 44 of the Constitution (which seeks large-scale privatization) on bourse display board last winter. It was considered as the largest bourse company until Mobarakeh Steel Complex joined the bourse in March overtaking NICIC.
The other companies in the top spots include Gol-Gohar Iron Ore Company ($2.1 billion),
Chadormalou Mining and Industrial Company (two billion dollars) and Saipa Industrial Group ($1.6 billion).
Given the favorable situation of mineral companies in the market, two companies of Gol-Gohar and Chadormalou companies have occupied the third and fourth places in the bourse since March, up from the sixth and eighth positions respectively they occupied during March 2006-2007.
Meanwhile, value of shares of Kharg, Ghadir petrochemical companies, Khuzestan Steel Company, Power Plant Projects Management Company (MAPNA), Retirement Investment Firm, Iran Khodro Industrial Group and Metal and Mine Investment Companies exceed one billion dollars.

Malaysia has a meager share among 38 countries which have invested in various sectors of Iran’s economy, chairman of Domestic and Foreign Investment Association of Iran Commerce, Industries and Mines observed.
In a meeting with Malaysian trade delegates in Tehran on Saturday, Hossein Salimi cited new investment regulations in Iran based on which the country allows 100-percent investment of foreign companies in the country, IRNA reported.
He recalled previous regulations envisaged that foreign firms could have a 50-percent share in projects. Salimi assured foreign investors of investment returns.
According to the expert, foreigners can purchase 10 percent shares of domestic companies and receive the annual dividends.
Iran has potentials including rich mineral resources, low wages and fuel prices to encourage Malaysian entrepreneurs to invest in the country.
Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Muhammad Affendi Norwawi is leading a 40-member delegation of government officials and representatives from private companies on a visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iran from November 5 to 11.
Objective of the mission is to identify potentially large business opportunities for Malaysian companies.
It is also meant to explore possible joint ventures between Malaysian companies and those in the Middle East as well as to attract investments from the Middle East in Malaysia’s economic corridors development.
Representatives from Proton, Petronas, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, MDeC, UEM Group Bhd, Zaid Ibrahim & Company, and Iskandar Regional Development Authority are among those in the mission.

Oil officials are creating conditions for attracting foreign investments by facilitating oil contracts. Last week, Caretaker of Oil Ministry Gholamhossein Nozari who has to obtain vote of confidence from the Majlis this Wednesday announced that decisions on oil contracts will no longer go to the Economic Council.
According to the official, a working group was established last week in line with Article 127 of the Constitution to scrutinize and approve oil contracts. The article stipulates, “In special circumstances, subject to approval of the Council of Ministers, the president may appoint one or more special representatives with specific powers. In such cases, the decisions of his representative(s) will be deemed as those taken by the president and the council of ministers.“
Commenting on the responsibility of the working group, Nozari elaborated that henceforth the final decision on oil contracts will rest with the group rather than the cabinet. The move is aimed at expediting ratification of such deals.
Details of the decision have not been disclosed yet. However it seems the government wants to remove the bureaucratic maze surrounding oil investments in Economic Council.
Meanwhile, deputy head of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for planning affairs, Akbar Torkan said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad approved a proposal to expedite production from oilfields.
The chief executive also assigned the deputy head of Presidential Department for Strategic Planning and Supervision to include the issue in the budget bill for fiscal year 2008-09.
Chaired by the president, Economic Council includes all economy ministers as well as vice presidents. The council has numerous responsibilities as well as assessment of major contracts, especially in oil and energy sectors.
NIOC is also mandated to submit projects to explore, develop and exploit to the council to assess their financial, technical and economic viabilities. Deals signed with foreign countries have to be ratified by the parliament. The fact is that since the council has multifaceted tasks and obligations, the process to evaluate programs and projects would become slow. Experts acknowledge that existence of numerous decision making authorities would delay projects and limit freedom of action in the stiff competitive world of energy.
This summer, the government decided to dissolve numerous parallel institutions and councils. Economic Council is among the entities which is also expected to undergo major changes.
It is not yet clear what would be reaction of the parliament toward government’s latest decision since lawmakers are concerned about legal overseeing over oil contracts. But what is obvious is that the move is aimed at speeding up decision-making and ensuring greater freedom of action.
Last week, Nozari warned international companies to stop dragging their feet on energy negotiations with Iran. He cautioned that if they continue to delay talks, the projects would be ceded to domestic companies.
Recent developments indicate Iran’s oil diplomacy would become more dynamic soon. International giant firms would exert pressure on their governments which delay negotiations with Iran under US threats to revise their decisions. Iran’s oil and gas development projects are too lucrative to ignore.

Tajikistan and Iran have reached a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in power and water sectors.
The MoU was signed by Iranian Energy Minister Parviz Fattah and Tajikistan’s Minister of Energy and Industry Sherali Gul in Tajik capital Dushanbe on early Saturday.
Under the five-article agreement, both sides have undertaken to conduct studies on constructing two dams, Shourab and Eini, in three months, IRIB reported.
Tehran and Dushanbe will also establish a joint engineering company to carry out soil and water studies to implement dam, power plant, watershed and irrigation projects in Tajikistan.
They also pledged to assess the possibility of reducing the timeframe for constructing and commissioning Sangtoudeh II hydroelectric power plant in the Central Asian state.
The power plant, once operational, will have the capacity to generate 220 megawatts of electricity.
Speaking to reporters in Tehran on his return, Fattah said the dam project conducted by Iranian engineers in the south of Tajikistan is progressing according to schedule given the demand by the Tajik government to make the dam operational sooner.
The minister further noted that studies on Charmaghzak Tunnel will become complete within the next two months and its financial plan will be put under study after this.
The minister and accompanying delegation visited Tajikistan from November 8 to 10.

Transactions between Iran and 27 European countries exceeded 11.3 billion euros in the first half of 2007.
Eurostat in its latest report indicated that European Union (EU) exports to Iran reached 4.6 billion euros while its imports from the Islamic state stood at some 6.7 billion euros during the same period.
Eurostat listed Italy, Germany, France, Netherlands and Greece as Iran’s major commerce partners respectively.
Transactions between the Islamic Republic and Italy, Iran’s biggest trade partner, exceeded 2.881 billion euros in the first half of 2007, reported Fars news agency.
Iran exported 2.08 billion euros worth of goods to Italy while its imports from that country stood at some 797 million euros.
According to the report, Germany (1.813 billion euros), France (1.765 billion euros), the Netherlands (1.309 billion euros) and Greece (1.056 billion euros) are Iran’s main trade partners respectively after Italy. “Germany is the biggest exporter of goods to Iran with 1.642 billion euros worth of exports,“ the report added.
According to Eurostat, Iran also recorded the highest exports of goods (2.084 euros) to Italy.
Iran Trade Promotion Organization has acted correctly to increase Iran exports, particularly non-oil goods.
In line with this, the organization has drawn up the non-oil export strategic plan which is being discussed by the cabinet.
The Islamic Republic’s transactions with the other European countries are: Spain 838 million euros, Britain 331 million euros, Belgium 279 million euros, Czech Republic 13 million euros, Denmark 62 million euros, Estonia 1 million euro, Ireland 14 million euros, Cyprus 4 million euros, Sweden 230 million euros, Finland 47 million euros, Slovakia 5 million euros, Slovenia 30 million euros and Portugal 202 million euros.

Transfer of all international flights (excluding those operating on Mecca and Medina routes) to the international airport has been completed by today.

Imam Khomeini International Airport will handle close to 2.9 million passengers by March 2008, predicted managing director of the State Airports Company (SAC).
Transfer of all international flights (excluding those operating on Mecca and Medina routes) to the international airport, some 30 km south of Tehran, has been completed by today, Asghar Ketabchi told ISNA.
Given the 10-12 percent increase in the number of international flights, it is estimated that IKIA would handle five million passengers by March 2009.
He explained that Hajj pilgrimage flights would remain in Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport to ensure more convenience for pilgrims.
The newly-built Imam Khomeini International Airport, the largest in Iran, sprawls over an area of 13,500 hectares.
Some 800 billion rials have been allocated for completing the first phase of IKIA, expected to be complete y March 2008. The IKIA can handle 6.5 million passengers annually following the implementation of the first phase. The airport will have the capacity to handle 15 and 40 million passengers in subsequent stages.
About 3.2 trillion rials will be needed to promote the airport to a world-class entity and upgrade its standards.