TEHRAN, June 3 (UPI) -- Iranian officials Tuesday announced plans to build an oil pipeline to transfer resources from the Caspian region to world markets via the Persian Gulf.
Iranian Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs Hossein Noqrekar-Shirazi told the Islamic Republic News Agency Tuesday the pipeline will "transfer oil from the Caspian Sea all the way down to the Persian Gulf and finally to the international markets."
Shirazi put the average pipeline capacity at about 1 million barrels of oil per day, though he did not specify further details regarding the cost or scheduling of the project, the Iranian Press TV said.
The deputy minister also said Iran started construction on six 63,000-ton transport ships to facilitate oil and gas shipments in the Caspian region.
"Iran has several major plans for the Caspian region," he said, including the development of "two major oil refineries along the Caspian Sea coastline to refine crude extracted from the oil-rich area."
On Monday, Iranian Deputy Minister of Oil and Gas Affairs Reza Kasaeizadeh said his country intended to start work on a portion of the Nabucco pipeline project slated to deliver gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe, RIA Novosti said.
"The feasibility study of Iran's possibilities in this project has almost been concluded. The Iranian gas pipeline will become a part of the Nabucco project, to supply natural gas to Europe from Iran's largest Southern Pars gas field," he said.
