This week Iran’s Energy Ministry announced that it had begun to transmit crude oil along the recently completed Goreh-Jask pipeline, which links oil fields near the Iraqi border with the Gulf of Oman port of Jack, thereby bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
Once the crude oil reaches the port of Jack, it will be transferred to crude oil tankers for export to markets in Asia, mainly in India, Southeast Asia, China, South Korea, and Japan.

This project includes a 620-mile pipeline and export terminal costing some £1.44bn ($1.8bn). The pipeline is to be officially opened later this year by Hassan Rouhani, the country’s President.

There are several interrelated reasons for the construction of this new pipeline, all of which facilitate Iran’s ability to expand its exports of crude. The Goreh-Jask pipeline and export terminal at the port of Jack will reduce shipping congestion in the Straits of Hormuz, improve access to overseas markets in the east and increase the ability of the country to export oil at a time of conflict in the region.

Lastly, the completion of the pipeline enables Iran to be better prepared to increase exports at a time when America is likely to lift its economic sanctions on the country.