"The pipeline is being laid to supply a million barrels of oil from Goureh Oil Terminal in the northwest of Bushehr Province to the west of Jask region off the Sea of Oman," Touraj Dehghani was quoted as saying by ISNA.
Estimated cost of the project is $2 billion and it is expected to be completed in 2021.
In addition to laying the extended pipeline, the project includes building 20 crude oil storage facilities, pumping stations and an oil export terminal, Financial Tribune reported.
Dehghani said PEDEC, a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company, is the main contractor and is cooperating with other engineering and consulting firms namely Petro Omid Asia Company, Omid Investment Management Group and Soroush Energy Company.
Converting Jask Port in the south into a major oil export terminal is a “strategic move to diversify oil export capacity.”
Once fully developed, Jask Oil Terminal will have the capacity to store up to 30 million barrels and export one million barrels per day of crude oil, the company said.
According to the official, the new terminal will help ease tanker traffic at Kharg Oil Terminal in the Persian Gulf handles almost 90% of Iran’s oil exports.
Added Advantage
Dehghani further said Jask is a strategic hub for a variety of reasons, including its proximity to the Makran Coast along the Oman Sea.
Furthermore, moving the main oil export terminal from Kharg to Jask will have the advantage that Iranian oil tankers will not have to pass through the crowded Strait of Hormuz.
The strategic strait is the world’s most important chokepoint through which 20 million barrels of oil passes every day.
Regarding West Karoun oil facilities, he said the flash floods in March and April in Khuzestan Province notwithstanding, PEDEC is producing 300,000 bpd of oil from West Karoun oilfields.
"Oil facilities at risk of inundation had been shut down between March and April to help protect the environment. But production from West Karoun oilfields namely Yaran, Yadavaran and Darkhoein is back to normal," he said.
West Karoun with 13 oilfields has top priority because the block's in-place reservoir is estimated to hold 67 billion barrels of crude.
Referring to the company's policy to boost output in this field, he said installing submersible pumps in the wells in North Yaran Oilfield and using skid-mounted modular mini refining units in South Azadegan Oilfield have contributed to the rise in oil production.