Aiyar warns Dhaka on gas pipeline project

India would be forced to look at other options of bringing natural gas from Myanmar if Bangladesh does not cooperate in working out a trilateral agreement on the Indo-Myanmar gas pipeline.

Speaking to Business Standard, Aiyar said, 'If Bangladesh does not cooperate in implementing the trilateral statement (signed in January), there are several other ways we could bring Myanmar gas.'

Gail and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation have participation in two gas blocks in Myanmar. India wants to bring gas reserves from Shwe field in block A-1 in offshore Myanmar. The companies are also expecting discoveries in the adjacent block A-3.

India had half a dozen options but was keen to involve Bangladesh since it would be good for the geo-political climate of the country. Pipeline through Bangladesh would be cheaper and would also help in monetising Tripura gas, said Aiyar.

"Whether Bangladesh is involved or not depends on whether he stick to points that are relevant and not peripheral," said Aiyar adding that there was no issue of substance that remained to be solved for the pipeline.

He said Bangladesh was keen that the memorandum of understanding for the pipeline should be signed in Dhaka, which showed that it was keen on the project.

Enumerating the other options, he said gas could come as compressed natural gas or liquified natural gas. "A pipeline could also be laid in the shallow waters. It could also be outside the shallow waters though there were technical problems in it." Onland pipeline could also directly come from Tripura or Mizoram.

Talks on pipeline transiting from Myanmar has got stuck with Bangladesh insisting on an assurance from India on trade, transit and power supply from Nepal and Bhutan to be included in the trilateral memorandum of understanding.

Aiyar's ministry of petroleum and natural gas is spearheading the diplomatic dialogue on the pipeline after a Cabinet approval for the same but finds it difficult to give any such assurance since the issues of transit, trade and power are not within its purview.

The three bilateral issues were identified by a committee of nine secretaries set up by the Bangladesh government for examining the India-Bangladesh-Myanmar pipeline.

India allows transit to Nepal-bound Bangladesh traffic for few hours but officials said there was not enough traffic to justify increase in the number of hours. The Indian government also cannot do much about the favourable trade balance it enjoys with Bangladesh since it was not willing to sell natural gas to India.

Officials said an assurance on power supply from Bhutan and Nepal to Bangladesh could not be made part of the trilateral MoU since it concerned two other countries which were not party to the document.