Iran is calling on Russia to invest in an oil pipeline that would connect the Caspian Basin with Oman.
Deputy Oil Minister Noureddin Shahnazizadeh says the $2-billion project is ready to move to the contracting phase. "We have already completed the groundwork for the project and will soon announce an international tender. I invite international companies, including Russian companies, to participate in the project," the industry journal Pipelines International quoted the Iranian official as saying on July 23.
The proposed Neka-Jask pipeline could carry Russian, Azeri, Kazakh and Turkmen crude oil. Gazprom and Tatneft, the sixth largest oil company in Russia, are potential partners in project which could be launched next year, Shahnazizadeh added.
