Muscat: Iran and Oman signed a deal to build 260 kilometer below-sea pipeline to carry Iranian gas to Oman.
Hamid-Reza Araqi, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company, was quoted as saying that construction has not yet begun.
“There has been no progress in the negotiations, as yet,” said Araqi, whose company is in charge of Iran’s gas export projects.
Negotiations over the export of gas to Oman are still under way at the Ministry of Petroleum, and once the talks are finalized, the Oman pipeline contractor will begin work, Araqi said.
Iran’s Afkar News has reported that a key point of dispute between Iran and Oman is the pricing formula, while Omani officials have cited international sanctions on Iran as the reason for the delay in beginning construction of the pipeline.
The agreement was signed during the visit of Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani to Muscat in March 2014.
The proposed pipeline would connect the Iranian province of Hormuzgan to Sohar in Oman.
The agreement was signed following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said’s visit to Tehran in August 2013.
At the time, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that Iran would begin pumping natural gas to Oman by 2015.
In a recent interview with Reuters, Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Oman’s Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, said that more talks are needed if progress is to be made on the agreement.
Oman has been pressured in the past by the United States to purchase fuel from alternative suppliers, such as Qatar, according to US embassy cables released by Wikileaks.
“Of course, discussions are taking place, in light of our need for more gas for our own industry and power generation. But, also, we are aware of the sanctions placed on the Iranians,” Alawi said, referring to international curbs on trade with Iran over its nuclear programme.
lamic banking assets reach Rs14.47 trillion, sector share rises to 23%
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Islamic banking sector expanded during 2025, increasing its share in the country’s financial system with assets reaching nearly...
