An oil official called for investment in several oil storage facilities with a total of 10-million-barrel capacity to build an oil terminal in the southern port city of Jask in Hormozgan Province.
"The construction of a dock for oil import and export, as well as oil and gas refineries, and the presence of public and private sector petrochemical companies in Jask can help turn the city into a regional hub for oil, gas and petrochemical trade," Mirali Asghar Sajedi, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Company, was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.
The official noted that Jask is a strategically important city for Iran because it would allow vessels to load crude oil without having to move up to oil terminals in the Persian Gulf.
Jask is situated on the country's Makran Coast stretching along the Sea of Oman. Since a large number of joint oil and gas fields are located in the Persian Gulf, the terminal will help the country expedite oil storage and export operations.
Last month, officials said a second terminal for oil and gas export will be built in Jask as part of plans to establishing free trade zones in Jask and Bushehr cities along the southern waters. The port city is also the proposed end of the Neka-Jask oil pipeline, stretching across a long corridor from northern Mazandaran Province down to the shores of the Sea of Oman in the south.
