Trans-Israel pipeline

The Trans-Israel pipeline (Hebrew: קו צינור אילת אשקלון‎), also Tipline, Eilat–Ashkelon Pipeline, or Europe–Asia Pipeline is an oil pipeline in Israel extending from the Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. It was originally built to transport crude oil originating from Iran inside Israel and to Europe.

Oil jetty in Eilat
Trans-Israel pipeline map

The 254 km, 42" pipeline's capacity from a special pier in Ashkelon to Eilat's port on the Red Sea is 400,000 barrels (64,000 m3) per day, and 1.2 million barrels per day (190,000 m3/d) in the opposite direction. The pipeline is owned and operated by the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC) which also operates several other oil pipelines in Israel.

History

The pipeline was built in 1968 as a 50/50% joint-venture between Israel and Iran. However, Iran ceased using the pipeline after the overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the subsequent severing of relations between the two countries.

In 2003, Israel and Russia made an agreement to supply Asian markets with Russian oil delivered by tankers from Novorossiysk to Ashkelon and then reloaded onto tankers in Eilat for shipment to Asia.[1] The oil would therefore flow in the opposite direction to that intended originally. This route from Europe to Asia is shorter than the traditional one around Africa, and cheaper than the one via the Suez Canal.

In December 2014, a breach near the southern end of the pipeline led to a massive oil spill[2] into the Evrona Nature Reserve.

In September 2020 a preliminary agreement was reached to transport Emirati oil from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean through the pipeline.[3]

Following seizure of the pipeline in 1979, Iran pursued a claim for compensation against Israel. On 27 June 2016, the Swiss Federal Tribunal decided the case in Iran's favour with an award of $1.1 billion plus interest.[4]

See also

References
  1. Russian Oil to Transit Israel: The Trans-Israel Pipeline is Reborn
  2. "PHOTOS: Israel Hit With Massive 600,000 Gallon Oil Spill".
  3. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-emirates-israel-pipeline/israeli-pipeline-company-signs-deal-to-bring-uae-oil-to-europe-idUSKBN275155
  4. Daiss, Tim (15 August 2016). "Israel Loses Secretive Oil Pipeline Case To Iran, Ordered To Pay $1.1 Billion Plus Interest". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
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