ZCZC
BCN-23
IRAN-OIL-DIPLOMACY-TRADE
Iran moving main oil export terminal out of Gulf
TEHRAN, Sept 4, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Iran is to move its main oil export terminal
from the Gulf to the Oman Sea, President Hassan Rouhani announced on Tuesday,
sparing its tankers from using the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Rouhani said exports were already being shifted from the Khark Island
terminal, deep in the Gulf, to Bandar-e-Jask in the Oman Sea and would be
completed by the end of his term in 2021.
“This is very important for me, it is a very strategic issue for me. A
major part of our oil sales must move from Khark to Jask,” Rouhani said in a
televised speech as he inaugurated three new petrochemical plants in the
southern energy hub of Asaluyeh.
To reach the oil terminal on Khark Island, tankers must currently pass
through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, slowing down deliveries.
Iran has in the past repeatedly threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz —
which is used by its Gulf rivals including Saudi Arabia — when faced with
sanctions on its oil exports and possible military action by the US.
The latest threat was in July when Rouhani said Iran has always guaranteed
the security of the strait but warned the US “should not play with the lion’s
tale.”
Moving its terminal to the Oman Sea would in theory allow Iran to continue
exporting oil even if the strait was closed.
The US pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal in May and will reimpose
sanctions on Iran’s oil sector in November.
The last time there was a major disruption in the flow of oil through
Hormuz was in 1984 during the Iran-Iraq war when both sides attacked each
other’s oil facilities and tankers.
The strait is the world’s most important oil chokepoint with roughly 35
percent of all seaborne oil passing through it, according to the US Energy
Information Administration.
Bloomberg reported that Iran exported 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of
oil in August, but analysts say US sanctions could reduce sales to around 1
million bpd.
BSS/AFP/SR/1910 HRS