Iran, Oman To Revive Never-Implemented Gas Deal After Meeting in Muscat

Iran and Oman agreed to revive a nearly two-decade-old gas deal, during a meeting on Saturday in Muscat between Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji and Oman’s Energy Minister Mohammed al-Rumhi, Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The agreement, called one of the region’s biggest energy projects, was first signed in 2004 but never implemented. Under the original agreement, Iran committed to start supplying 30 million cubic meters (mcm) per day of natural gas to Oman by 2008 and then increase the daily volume to 70 mcm by 2012. It would have earned Iran over $1 billion each year. On Saturday, the ministers agreed in a meeting to start laying a gas pipeline that will enable Iran to pump natural gas to Oman. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is scheduled to arrive in Oman for an official visit on Monday.