Iran is ready to build the onshore stretch of a major gas pipeline project that would transfer natural gas from the Persian Gulf to Oman south of the Sea of Oman, the CEO of the National Iranian Gas Company Hamidreza Araqi said on January 13, 2018.
In February 2017, Tehran and Muscat signed a preliminary agreement on the pipeline project that is estimated to cost $1.2 billion. But the venture is still at an embryonic stage.
Based on an earlier agreement in 2013, Oman would take in 28 mcm/d of gas from Iran for 15 years. The 2 nations hope the gas flow will begin by 2020.
The sultanate could import as much as 20 billion cubic meters a year of Iranian gas, or more than 50 mcm/d, to meet its demand.
The pipeline will circumvent the maritime boundary of the UAE «because the emiratis will not allow the pipeline to be laid in their territorial waters», according to Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh.
The decision means the pipeline will be laid on parts of the Sea of Oman, which could go deeper than planned. The pipeline may be laid close to 1,000 meters below the sea's surface instead of the shallower UAE waters at around 300 meters.
Potential Partners
International oil and gas firms, including Total, Shell, KOGAS, Mitsui & Co., Uniper SE and E.ON, could be involved in the gas venture, according to an official at the NIOC.
Russia, Iran's political ally and an increasingly close economic partner, could also help with the development plan.
NIOC chief Ali Kardor said last month that Iran is interested in Gazprom’s participation in the Iran-Oman gas pipeline.
«There has been huge interest [between NIOC and Gazprom] in the prospects of the joint construction of Iran-Pakistan-India and Iran-Oman gas pipelines,» Kardor told Sputnik.
In November, Gazprom and NIOC signed a MoU, which opened the way to a study into the prospects of cooperation in the development of gas fields in Iran, gas transportation and monetization.
