Transforming the port of Jask in the southern Hormozgan Province into a major oil terminal is a strategic step to expand Iran's oil export capacity, the chief executive officer of Iran's Petroleum Engineering and Development Company said.
"Once fully developed, Jask Oil Terminal will have the capacity to store up to 30 million barrels and export 1 million barrels per day of crude oil," Noureddine Shahnazi-Zadeh was also quoted as saying by Shana on Monday.
The terminal is part of a development plan to diversify the Iranian oil export hubs. The project, estimated to cost upwards of $2 billion, is expected to be completed by 2021.
According to the official, it could ease the load of tanker traffic at Kharg Oil Terminal off the Persian Gulf coast that is responsible for more than 90% of Iranian oil exports.
Shahnazi-Zadeh further said Jask is a strategic hub for a score of reasons, including its location on the country's Makran Coast stretching along the Sea of Oman. It would allow vessels to load crude oil without having to move up to oil terminals in the Persian Gulf.
Since a large number of joint oil and gas fields are located in the Persian Gulf, the terminal will also help the country expedite oil storage and export operations.
Previous reports said the development plan includes the construction of two refineries, a petrochemical complex and oil storage units with a total capacity of 10 million barrels in the first phase and 30 million barrels in the second.
Petrochemical and refining complexes are due to be established in Jask region with private sector participation.
The official said a tender has been held for laying 1,000 kilometers of a 46-inch pipeline from Deylam in the southern province of Bushehr to Jask.
To accelerate the progress and also with the aim of providing a considerable amount of job opportunity, the construction of the pipeline will be handed to the three top bidders with a share of 50%, 35% and 15% respectively. The names of the winners will be publicized soon.
Shahnazi-Zadeh noted that the tender for building 20 crude storages with a capacity of 500,000 barrels and an estimated cost of $200 million is ready to be publicized. Once held, the winners will sign deals under the build-operate-transfer model.
The port of Jask 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.
Part of the natural gas delivered to Jask will be exported to Oman according to previous reports by Shana, while the rest will feed petrochemical and steel industries in the region.
