Posted on 02/14/2006 4:09:20 AM PST by Flavius
New Delhi: Energy of the future may be nuclear, but for 25 more years India will be dependent on hydrocarbons like oil and gas for its power needs to drive forward its economy. The country must have unhindered supply of oil and gas for this period to achieve its targeted rate of economic growth.
These hard facts go strongly in favour of the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, says Talmeez Ahmad, Additional Secretary, (International Cooperation) Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and a seasoned diplomat.
Seeking to dispel doubts over the continuity of supply in view of the political dynamics of the region in relation to India, he says that the agreement for the project will incorporate enough safeguards to prevent any such situation from developing.
Over the last 50 years, the international community has drawn up conventions and treatises to ensure that such projects are not hampered by vagaries of politics, he stresses.
The 35 years of transnational gas lines have shown that such projects have been unaffected by international conflicts. Citing the case of the Indus Water Treaty, he said it has worked despite relations between India and Pakistan turning hostile several times.
''In this era of globalisation, there is a deep concern for meeting international obligations,'' he said.
The US emphasis that India should make efforts towards meeting its energy needs by going in for nuclear power plants instead of going in for gas pipeline disregards the fact that for 25 years, the country will remain dependent on hydrocarbons, he said.
The US itself has not set up any nuclear power plants in the last 20 years, he pointed out, adding that at present only France was meeting 70 per cent of its power needs through nuclear energy, and Japan came next with 20 per cent dependence on this source of energy.
Natural gas, a clean fuel, is being increasingly seen as the fuel of the 21st century and the demand for this source of energy will rise by 97 per cent in the next 20 years, says Ahmad. There are enough gas reserves to meet world demands for 60 years.
With new discoveries, reserves could meet demand for 150 years at the present rate of consumption. In such a scenario, transnational gas pipelines are becoming extremely important for achieving the economic growth targets. These facts make out a strong case for India pursuing its gas pipeline project with Iran, he said.
''Such projects besides powering economic growth have regional peace as a byproduct, as they, by their very nature, induce the partner countries to try for regional cooperation and avoid tension,'' says Ahmad.
If I were them, I'd hold off on that pipeline for a while.
The list goes on...
What's wrong with this equation?
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