Iran's First Oil Export Bypassing Hormuz Strait... "Using New Pipeline"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Iran announced that it has successfully exported oil for the first time by bypassing the Strait of Hormuz and exporting oil to the Gulf of Oman using a newly constructed oil pipeline. Although the first country to receive the bypassed export has not been disclosed, this move is interpreted as a preparation for potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing tensions with the United States.

According to foreign media including the Associated Press on the 26th (local time), Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that it successfully loaded 650,000 barrels of oil onto a tanker at the Bandar-e Jask (Jask) port in the southeastern Hormozgan Province, operated by Iran's state-owned port terminal. This is reportedly the first time Iran has exported oil by loading it at the Gulf of Oman, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

Previously, on the 22nd, the Iranian government announced the completion of an oil pipeline that enables crude oil exports via the Gulf of Oman, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. This approximately 1,000 km long pipeline starts from Goreh in Bushehr Province, a southwestern oil field area, passes through Fars Province, and extends to the Jask port in southeastern Hormozgan Province. The first country to receive crude oil exports through Jask port has not been disclosed.

Jask port is located along the coast of the Gulf of Oman, east of the Strait of Hormuz, the entrance to the Gulf region where military tensions between the United States and Iran have been escalating. As the possibility of a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has recently been suggested amid rising conflicts with the United States, this is seen as a preparatory move. Until now, Iran exported crude oil through the Kharg Island terminal located on the western side of the Gulf. Therefore, oil tankers carrying Iranian crude had to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.