The Goureh-Jask crude oil pipeline project has not been hurt by the spread of the novel coronavirus and operations are ongoing, said the managing director of the Petroleum Engineering and Development Co., a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company.
Although the deadly disease has had harmed many businesses, the pipeline project has not been halted as work goes on with minimum manpower and upholding emergency health regulations to ensure the safety of the workers at the site, NIOC website reported Touraj Dehghani as saying.
The project includes construction of a 1,000-kilometer pipeline to move 1 million barrels of crude oil a day from the West Karoun region to Jask, off the Sea of Oman.
Work on the Goureh-Jask oil project began last summer and has registered 25% progress. Dehghani hoped work be finished by 2022 and cost $2 billion.
In less than two years, light, heavy and ultra-heavy crude oil will be transferred from Goureh oil terminal in Bushehr Province to Jask Port in Hormozgan Province.
PEDEC is the main contractor, which is cooperating with other engineering and consulting firms in the mega project.
Ahvaz Industrial Pipe Company, Isfahan-based Mobarakeh Steel Company and Khouzestan Oxin Steel Company have mobilized to lay the pipelines. So far almost 200 kilometers of pipes have been manufactured and sent to Bushehr.
In addition, 50 heavy duty pumps for the project are manufactured in PUMPIRAN and PETCO companies (in Tabriz).
The project includes construction of 20 oil storage facilities, pumping stations and one oil export terminal.
When ready, Jask Oil Terminal will store up to 30 million barrels and export one million barrels per day of crude.
Kharg Terminal in the Persian Gulf has been Iran’s main oil export terminal for decades. Jask will become another major terminal, and has the advantage that oil tankers need not pass through the narrow and permanently clogged Strait of Hormuz.
The project is on track while Iran’s oil exports have dropped drastically since imposition of new US sanctions.
The exact level of Iran’s oil exports is opaque, but according to information provider S&P Global Platts, crude exports in September 2019 were at 400,000 barrel per day, down from 1.95 million bpd in the same month of 2018.
210 Nations Affected
Since first being recorded late last year in China, the new Covid-19 disease has spread around the world, and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.
It has affected 210 countries and territories, with the total cases surpassing 1.7 million and over 103,000 deaths globally by Saturday.
In Iran, there have been more than 68,000 cases in about 55 days and over 4,200 reported dead.
Basic protective measures against the new coronavirus include regularly and thoroughly cleaning of hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or washing them with soap and water, avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth, and maintaining at least 1 meter distance between oneself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
