Tehran: Outgoing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has inaugurated a major onshore pipeline that allows the country to bypass the Hormuz Strait for crude oil exports.
The pipeline, with some 1,000 km in length, will transfer the pumped oil from facilities in Goureh to the Omani sea port of Jask, reports Xinhua news agency.
The inauguration of the Goureh-Jask pipeline “gives a strong and firm response to all plotters particularly to the US,” Rouhani said during the virtual opening ceremony on Thursday, alluding to the American sanctions, which are aimed at hindering Tehran’s oil exports.
“The US government waged war on us in two areas, one on oil exports, and the other on the supply of goods.”
“They aimed to stop Iran’s oil exports and reduce crude exports to zero,” he said, hinting the failure of the US anti-Iran maximum pressure policy.
The $2- billion project, the construction of which started two years ago, detours the strategic Hormuz Strait which has long been used as a vital passageway for oil exports of the region.
“As time goes by, the importance of this project will become more evident for the Iranians,” said Rouhani.
The oil pipeline is able to initially export 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude and will reach the capacity of one million bpd once fully ready in October, according to authorities.