BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 19. Iran is projected to have the most significant additions to oil and gas trunk/transmission pipeline length in the Middle East between 2023 and 2027, Trend reports.
According to the information obtained from GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, this will account for approximately 38 percent of the region's total planned and announced pipeline expansions by 2027.
Iran is expected to add a planned pipeline length of 5,340 km (from projects with all necessary approvals) and an announced pipeline length of 770 km (projects yet to receive all necessary approvals) by 2027.
Bhargavi Gandham, oil&gas analyst at GlobalData, noted that over half of Iran's transmission pipeline length additions by 2027 will be natural gas pipelines, fulfilling the country's high domestic gas demand for its industrial, petrochemical, and residential sectors.
Among the upcoming projects, the Iranian Gas Trunk Line–IGAT XI pipeline is the largest with a total length of 1,200 km. It is currently in the construction stage and expected to begin operations in 2023. Owned and operated by the National Iranian Gas Co, it will meet gas demand in provinces like Bushehr, Fars, Yazd, and Isfahan.
The Goureh–Jask oil pipeline ranks second among Iran's upcoming transmission pipelines, with a total length of 1,000 km. It is presently in the commissioning stage and scheduled to start operations in 2023. To be operated by the Petroleum Engineering and Development Co, it will transport crude oil to the Jask oil terminal for storage and exports.
Meanwhile, GlobalData estimates Iraq to take second place in the Middle East for transmission pipeline length additions, with 3,078 km by 2027, primarily comprising oil pipelines. Notably, the Basra–Aqaba Oil and Iraq–Turkey II are the major upcoming oil pipelines with lengths of 1,700 km and 1,000 km, respectively, and both are intended for oil exports from the country.
As the agency pointed out, Israel closely follows Iraq with upcoming transmission pipeline length additions of 2,975 km, consisting entirely of natural gas pipelines. The largest among them is the EastMed pipeline, with a total length of 2,000 km, proposed to be operated by IGI Poseidon SA. The pipeline is currently in the FEED stage and expected to start operations by 2027.
Bhargavi also noted that the EastMed gas pipeline aims to export natural gas from the Levantine Basin to Greece through the Mediterranean Sea. It has the potential to serve as an alternative source of natural gas for southeast Europe, reducing dependency on Russian gas imports.