Page 15 - MEOG Week 32 2021

MEOG
NEWS IN BRIEF
MEOG
To be more clear about the provisions set out in the agreement, the investor would have to account for the capital, design, commodity and equipment supply, and construction
and operation of 20 500,000-barrel storage tanks and associated facilities over three years. Another equally important issue is
that the contractor would have to account for maintenance for 15 years. After the end of the 18th year, the ownership of the facilities would be transferred to National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).
Abdollah Ahmadi, manager of crude oil storage tanks project in the Goreh-Jask crude oil pipeline project, in the early phase of this strategic project, 2 mb/d would be stored while in phase 1, 10 mb/d storage is envisaged.
The crude oil storage tanks construction project, which accounts for 18% of the total Goreh-Jask crude oil pipeline project, in the first phase consists of 20 storage tanks, each with a capacity of 500,000 barrels,
a 15-megawatt power plant and a water treatment plant, on a 130-hectare land in the Jask region and the Makran coasts.
The project for constructing oil storage tanks and its associated facilities is located in Jask Port and the last 2 km of this 1,000 km area is located near Mount Mubarak.
NIOC has located about 5,000 hectares
of coastal lands located 65 km west of Jask, near Mount Mubarak, for the construction
of special oil, gas, refining and petrochemical projects. In this regard, construction of oil storage tanks in this strategic area is important in terms of feeding the planned refineries.
In other words, with the construction of these storage tanks and their development
in future phases, another goal of NIOC
for presence in the global market of petroleum products and providing necessary infrastructure in the region to erect affiliated industries as part of Makran development plan would be realized.
With the construction of refineries and petrochemicals in the Jask region, in the future we will have a zone similar to Assaluyeh in Jask, with the difference that Assaluyeh is a gas region and Jask is an oil region.
Ahmadi underscored the importance of constructing storage tanks in the national and strategic Goreh-Jask project, production, transfer, storage, gauging and export of oil
as important components in the production chain up to oil export and said: “Storage for adequate, timely, and uninterrupted supply is important for national and international demand.”
He also stated that the establishment of
a new oil terminal in the east of the Strait of Hormuz is one of the important goals of the project: Storage plays an important role in controlling, stabilizing and sustaining supply, and the reservoirs of this important project are designed to reduce risk and stabilize. The oil market is designed and running so that we can have reliable storage in this regard.
Ahmadi also stated that establishment of a new oil terminal east of the Strait of Hormuz is one of the important goals of the project. He said: “Storage plays an important role in controlling, stabilizing and sustaining supply, and the storage tanks of this important project are designed to reduce risk and stabilize the oil market is designed so that we can have reliable storage in this regard.”
IRAN PETROLEUM
SERVICES
An overland route to rival Suez
A multi-billion-dollar logistics project to rival the Suez Canal has left Iraqi opinion divided. Proponents say the $7 billion port project
at Al Faw, near Basra, which will be linked an overland route to Turkey by rail, would make the port city a gateway to Europe. But critics say the plan is wildly ambitious.
Analysts and Iraqis close to the project
told The National it had been plagued by delays, corruption allegations and competition between armed militias.
It also puts a strain on the Iraqi government’s limited funds as schools and
hospitals grow crowded and when poor sanitation and power cuts are stirring unrest.
The cost of Iraq’s reconstruction after the 2014-18 war with ISIS was estimated by the World Bank at about $88bn.
After the conflict, oil revenue – Iraq’s main source of income – plummeted, leaving the state struggling to pay public-sector salaries. This added to numerous delays. But, against these odds, in December the government signed a $2.3bn infrastructure contract with Daewoo Engineering & Construction.
The South Korean company built the port’s $1bn, 23-kilometre breakwater. The world’s largest, it was an eight-year endeavour for which five million tonnes of rock were required.
Almost 12 kilometres of berths are envisaged, as is a 30km dredged channel to accommodate hefty cargo ships.
Dean Mikkelsen is a maritime and logistics analyst who has worked with oil companies
in Iraq.
“I have questions on the feasibility of the rail side. It opens the door for massive bribes for purchasing land, much of it tribally owned, with money that the government does not have,” he said.
“The issues are the militias and poor infrastructure. Rail infrastructure could still become another target for terrorists in some areas.”
By Iraqi government estimates, the double- track rail link from Basra to the Turkish border could cost $13bn to build.
The project has been dogged by factionalism and arguments in parliament about how to fund it since the first contract was signed in 2013.
At the time, Iraq’s transport ministry was run by Badr Organisation, a powerful political party with links to Iran.
“The main reason behind why the project has been delayed for many years is financial and administrative corruption in the ministries and parties,” said Mohammed Al Tai, a former MP for Basra.
“In the 2021 budget, a small amount has been allocated, exceeding $500 million, and
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