SEOUL, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- South Korea signed a deal with Tehran to help the country build an oil pipeline from the Caspian Sea to the Gulf of Oman, an Iranian official said.
Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said Iran and South Korea aim to build the $3 billion pipeline in Iran that could transfer more than 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day, the semiofficial Mehr News Agency reports.
Iran faces obstacles in exporting its natural resources because of Western economic sanctions targeting its energy sector. Iranian officials have said, however, they aim to increase the amount of oil swaps to outside countries by as much as 200,000 barrels per day by next March, the end of the Iranian year.
Meanwhile, Alexander Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Gazprom, met with Choo Kang-soo, president of Korea Gas Corp. to address steps needed to build a natural gas pipeline to South Korea through its northern neighbor.
"The parties confirmed their interest in the pipeline gas supplies project meeting strategic interests of both countries and the region in general," Gazprom said in a statement.
South Korea is one of the largest natural gas consumers in the world.
