Ali Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the Goreh-Jask crude oil transfer project at the Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC), told Shana about the latest progress of the project.

"Currently, the progress of the first phase of the project has reached 76.5 percent and all facilities and forces have been mobilized to launch the strategic plan by the end of the current [calendar] year (which began on March 21) to allow the transfer of more than 300,000 barrels of crude oil from Goreh to Jask,” he said.

He said the construction of pipelines, pumping stations 2 and 4, 2 pigging stations and electricity supply are among the goals of the first phase of the Goreh-Jask national project, and said: “By the end of the year, 2 million barrels of Jask reservoir capacity will become operational.”

The deputy director of the Goreh-Jask crude oil transfer project, stating that construction of the project’s pipeline has reached more than 62%, adding: “So far, nearly 700 km of pipeline has been delivered to the site and more than 300 km of pipe laying has been done. According to the master plan, the entire pipeline stretch, which is about a thousand kilometers, will be tested, installed and operated by the end of this year.”

The 1000-km pipeline project is primarily aimed at diversifying Iran's oil export hubs. Currently, the country exports almost all of its oil from Khark Oil Terminal in the Persian Gulf.