Iran Interested in Caspian Oil Transit to Gulf Markets

BAKU. April 24 (Interfax) – Iran is interested in Caspian oil transiting through its territory on the way to Persian Gulf countries, Aminollah Eskandari, Director of the Oil Refining Department at NIORDC, an Iranian Ministry of Petroleum’s oil company, said at the 2nd oil trade and transport conference in Baku on Thursday.

Forecasts indicate that in 2020 exports of Caspian oil will increase 2.3 times compared with 2007, reaching up to 4.654 million barrels per day, he said. Oil export volumes by Azerbaijan in 2020 are forecast at the level of 1.253 million barrels per day; from Kazakhstan, at 2.998 million barrels per day; from Turkmenistan, at 0.078 million barrels per day; and from Russia, 0.325 million barrels per day.

“There are several export routes in the Caspian region, but a number of factors inhibit the export of Caspian oil. In particular, the region is remote from international export routes. In order to ship growing amounts of Caspian oil, the capacity of the existing KTK and Baku-Tbilisi-Jeihan oil pipelines will have to be increased. The countries in the region should not ignore Iran as an attractive option for access to international markets and as a reliable partner,” Eskandari said.

To be able to accept large amounts of oil from the Caspian region, Iran is planning to increase the capabilities of its Neka port and build a pipeline linking Neka to Jask, he added.

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