The planned subsea natural gas pipeline between Iran and Oman is expected to support a US$1-1.5bn rise in costs because of the re-design of the project route to avoid United Arab Emirates (UAE)-controlled waters. Consequently, the 10 bcm/year pipeline will be shorter than originally planned but it will go deeper.
A bilateral agreement was reached in September 2015 for the construction of the 260 km-long portion between Kuh-e Mubarak in Iran and Sohar in Oman as part of a broader deal involving the supply of 10 bcm/year of gas to Oman. The pipeline is expected be completed in 2018 or 2019 and exports are scheduled to start in 2021.
In 2009 Iran signed an agreement for gas deliveries to Oman in exchange for access to the Sultanate's LNG facilities; in 2013, Iran agreed to export 28 mcm/d of gas to Oman. NIGEC, the National Iranian Gas Company, is currently in discussions with Oman on future gas exports and on a potential use of Oman's gas LNG installations: Iran is considering reserving around 30% of its future gas exports to Oman for liquefaction and exports.