| Iran-Iraq-Syria pipeline | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | Iran,Iraq,Syria[1] |
| General direction | east–west |
| From | Asaluyeh,Iran |
| Passes through | Damascus,Syria |
| General information | |
| Type | Natural gas |
| Technical information | |
| Length | 5,600 km (3,500 mi) |
| Maximum discharge | 110 million cubic metres of natural gas per day[1] |
| Diameter | 56 in (1,422 mm) |
TheIran–Iraq–Syria pipeline (called theFriendship Pipeline by the governments involved and theIslamic gas pipeline by some Western sources[2]) is a proposednatural gaspipeline running from the IranianSouth Pars/North Dome Gas-Condensate field towards Europe viaIran,Iraq,Syria andLebanon to supply European customers as well as Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.[1] The pipeline was planned to be 5,600 km (3,500 mi) long and have a diameter of 142 centimetres (56 in).[1] A previous proposal, known as the Persian Pipeline, had seen a route from Iran's South Pars to Europe via Turkey; it was apparently abandoned after the Swiss energy companyElektrizitätsgesellschaft Laufenburg halted its contract with Iran in October 2010 in the face of pressure overU.S. sanctions against Iran.[3][4]
Iraq signed an agreement with Iran in June 2013 to receive natural gas to fuel Iraqi power plants in Baghdad and Diyala. The contract covers 40 million m3 (1.4 billion cu ft) per day over 10 years. Iran's plans to export 5.0 million m3 (176 million cu ft) of gas per day atstandard conditions to Iraq by 2015.[5]
In July 2011 Iran, Iraq and Syria said they planned to sign a contract potentially worth around $6bn to construct a pipeline running from South Pars towards Europe, via these countries and Lebanon and then under the Mediterranean to a European country, with a refinery and related infrastructure inDamascus.[1][6][7][8] In November 2012 the United States dismissed reports that construction had begun on the pipeline, saying that this had been claimed repeatedly and that "it never seems to materialize."[9] A framework agreement was to be signed in early 2013, with costs now estimated at $10bn;[10] construction plans were delayed by theSyrian civil war.[11] In December 2012 theOxford Institute for Energy Studies said that the project "remains doubtful. It is not clear how such a project will be financed given that both Iran and Syria are subject to strict financial sanctions."[12] In July 2015,Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company (IGEDC) and Pasargad Energy Development Company signed aBOT (build-operate-transfer) contract under which theproject owner will provide 25% of finance andNational Development Fund of Iran the rest for the construction ofIGAT-6.[citation needed]
The pipeline would be a competitor to theNabucco pipeline from Azerbaijan to Europe.[1] It is also an alternative to theQatar–Turkey pipeline which had been proposed byQatar to run from Qatar to Europe via Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey.[13] Syria's rationale for rejecting the Qatar proposal was said to be "to protect the interests of [its] Russian ally, which is Europe's top supplier of natural gas."[13]
