Gazprom Drops Oman-Iran Pipe Plan
Russian Gazprom is no longer interested in building the offshore Iran-Oman gas pipeline, local media quoted the deputy chief executive Vitaly Markelov saying. “Gazprom is considering other Iranian projects, but has no interest to involvement in this offshore pipe project any longer,” he said.
According to a deal, signed in 2015, Iran should have exported 28mn m³/yr to Oman in two years, but the 15-year deal has depended on both construction of a 260-km underwater pipeline and agreement on the gas price. Oman is producing more gas of its own, as BP's work on the Khazzan field bears fruit.
Gazprom has signed several memoranda of understanding with Iran, covering upstream work, LNG and construction of the Iran-Oman pipeline, but all of them have been remained on paper.
The US withdrew from the nuclear treaty with Iran in May last year and has imposed sanctions on Iran. It also gave a 90-day waiver to Iran's gas customer Iraq last October, which is due to expire mid-June after two extensions. The US State Department told NGW this week: “The waiver provided to Iraq does not expire until mid-June and no new extension has been provided. We are working to help Iraq, an energy rich nation, to become energy independent”.
Iraq has two agreements with Iran to import 50mn m3/d gas, but the current volume is roughly reaches two-fifth of that. Iraq's energy ministry spokesman Musab al-Mudaris told reporters April 22 that the country has no choice but to continue Iranian gas imports: “Several gas-fired power plants totalling 2.4 GW are operating on Iranian gas, while Iran exports directly a further 1.5 GW electricity to Iraq,” local media quoted him saying.