Британские СМИ сообщили, что страны Персидского залива рассматривают возможность строительства нового нефтепровода, обходящего пролив Хормуз

The Times of London reported on the 2nd that due to the “uncertain prospects” of the Strait of Hormuz, some Gulf countries are considering building new oil pipelines to bypass the strait for oil and gas exports. Officials and industry executives from Gulf countries stated that constructing new pipelines might be the only way, but the project is costly, politically complex, and would take years to complete. The report said that the current Iran conflict highlights the strategic value of Saudi Arabia’s east-west oil pipeline, which is about 1,200 kilometers long. The pipeline was built in the 1980s and transports 7 million barrels of crude oil daily to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea. Now, Saudi Arabia is considering how to export more crude oil through pipelines, studying further expansion of the east-west pipeline’s capacity or opening new routes. Previously, there have been several proposals for constructing pipelines in the region, but these plans were shelved due to high costs and engineering complexity. Christopher Bush, CEO of Minmou Group, a private enterprise in Lebanon and one of the main contractors for the Saudi east-west pipeline, said that before the Iran conflict, there was strong interest from all parties in building new pipelines, but high costs, security risks, and political challenges hindered progress. (Xinhua News Agency)