ISLAMABAD: In addition to taking stock of the progress made in the exploration of oil and gas in the country, representatives from both Islamabad and Moscow also discussed ways to supply gas from the Middle East to Pakistan, the Ministry of Petroleum said on Wednesday.

They aim to do this by tapping into Russian energy giant, Gazprom's sources in the Middle East and channeling the same to Pakistan.

Mobin Saulat, Managing Director, Inter State Gas Systems, Pakistan, and Vitaly. A. Markelov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee and Member of the Board of Directors of Gazprom, signed an inter-corporate agreement in Islamabad to undertake a feasibility study on gas supplies from the Middle East.

"The document, which serves as a follow-up to the memorandum inked by the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Energy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in September 2018, provides for a joint feasibility study regarding gas supplies from the Middle East to South Asian countries," Gazprom said in a statement issued in Moscow.

Federal Minister for Petroleum Division, Ghulam Sarwar Khan lauded the expanding trajectory of bilateral relations between Russia and Pakistan and appreciated Gazprom’s interest in the offshore gas pipeline project and termed it "a manifestation of multifaceted cooperation between both the countries."

"This project envisages transporting of gas molecules from Gazprom’s sources in the Middle East onwards to Pakistan with a possibility in extending it further to South Asian countries," a statement issued by Pakistan's Ministry of Petroleum said.

Plans for the pipeline is part of an integrated approach which includes other ancillary projects such as underground gas storage, desalination, and power projects.

"Pakistan will import some 500 million to 1 billion cubic feet of gas from Russia daily, which would be transported via sea link, the agreement stipulates. The pipeline construction is expected to be completed in three to four years," the statement added.

In September 2018, Pakistan and Russia had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Moscow for the construction of the marine gas pipeline at the cost of $10 billion.

A feasibility study of the project will be conducted by Gazprom and the project will be jointly handled by Pakistan’s state-owned Inter State Gas Systems (ISGS) along with Gazprom.

The ISGS is currently also engaged with mega gas pipeline schemes such as the $10 billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project which aims to bring natural gas from the Gylkynish and adjacent gas fields in Turkmenistan to this region.