Iran’s Shana news agency reports that work on a key storage project at its planned Jask export terminal is ahead of schedule. Development of the terminal is a strategic project aimed at providing Iran with a route to market for its crude oil that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint. A 1,100km, 1mn b/d capacity 42-inch pipeline is planned to link the terminal to Iran’s oil producing areas in the west, with a 10mn barrel storage facility constructed at Jask.

A $230mn contract for the storage facility was awarded in October 2018 and Shana says it is on track to be finished in early 2021, ahead of its end-2021 schedule. The only problem is that there is no sign of progress on constructing the critical pipeline connection, without which any storage tanks will lie empty. (CONTINUED - 136 WORDS)