An Omani delegation arrived in Tehran to discuss technical issues surrounding gas exports from Iran to the Arab country, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Exports Company (NIGEC) said Wednesday.
The delegation is working towards appointing an Iranian consultant to conduct basic engineering studies and offshore assessments for laying a prospect pipeline to transfer the Iranian gas via the Persian Gulf to the sultanate.
Omanis have paid a visit to selected competent Iranian companies. “A close interrelation has been established between the two sides,” Alireza Kameli was quoted by Shana news agency as saying. “Iran and Oman are determined to finalize the project,” he added. A 200 kilometers submarine pipeline is to be laid from from Roodan to Kooh Mobarak, in the southern Hormozgan Province, from which point a 200 kilometers submarine pipeline will transfer Iranian gas to Sahar Port in Oman.
The assessments on both onshore and offshore sections are to be carried out concurrently so as to prevent any impediment to the project’s integrity.
In March 2014, Iran sealed an agreement to export 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Oman, in a deal that also involves building the submarine pipeline across the Persian Gulf at a cost of about $1 billion.
The accord, signed during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Muscat, came out of a memorandum of understanding between the countries in August for the sale of Iranian gas to Oman from 2015, in a 25-year deal valued at around $60 billion.
Oman will reportedly use some of the gas to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) for its domestic consumption, but some may be sold abroad through a joint marketing company to be set up at a later date. Iran sits on the world’s largest gas reserves, according to the latest statistics compiled by BP.
However, the vast majority of Iran’s gas reserves are undeveloped. Despite the abundant reserves, Iran is yet a relatively minor and strictly regional exporter of natural gas via pipelines to three neighboring countries – Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
