Iran will ship the
first cargo of crude oil from its new terminal at Jask on the Oman Sea Coast in
June, following completion of a key oil export pipeline that bypasses the
Strait of Hormuz, oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said May 17, the ministry’s news
service reported.
Construction of the Goureh-Jask oil pipeline has finished
“Construction of
the Goureh-Jask oil pipeline has finished,” Zanganeh said, referring to the
conduit that will carry 1 million b/d of crude from Iran’s West Karun oil
fields to the southern coast on the Sea of Oman for export.
Zanganeh said the
first oil consignment from the Jask terminal will be exported in the Iranian
month of Khordad (May 22-June 21).
Iran pursued the
idea of building a sister facility for the Kharg oil terminal after the Strait
of Hormuz shipping chokepoint became the focus of military tensions between
Iran and the US and several tankers were hit by mines or other attacks.
Goureh-Jask pipeline not yet officially inaugurated
Iran began
construction of the $1.1 billion Goureh-Jask pipeline in June 2020. It has not
yet been officially inaugurated.The Goureh pump station receives heavy oil from
fields in the south and southwestern oil rich regions of Iran and currently
sends the crude to Kharg Island.