A senior Iranian gas official says studies have begun by Iran and Oman on the deep-water route of a pipeline that is supposed to transfer Iranian natural gas to Oman.

Alireza Kameli, managing director of National Iranian Gas Exports Company (NIGEC), told Shana that two routes have been considered for gas transfer from Iran to Oman which include deep-water and shallow-water paths.

He said the deep-water route would be shorter and would not need a permission from a third country, however the final decision for choosing the path will be taken after studies are finalized over the two options.

A project has been defined for carrying out studies over the gas pipeline. The Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IOEC) has been awarded the offshore studies of the project and Pars Consulting Engineers Company has been assigned to carry out studies on the land section of the project.

The land part of the gas pipeline extends for 200 kilometers from Rudan to Mobarak Mount in southern Hormozgan province. The seabed section between Iran and Sohar Port in Oman will stretch for another 200 kilometers.

According to reports, the construction of the subsea pipeline is estimated to cost $1.5 billion.

Iran and Oman have signed basic agreements based on which Iran will export a daily amount of 28 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas to Oman. Almost a third of the gas will be used in spare liquefaction facilities of Omans Qalhat plant and the rest will be consumed in the Persian Gulf sultanates domestic market. Iran will accordingly use the LNG produced for exports to European and Asian markets.