![\"iran](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/iran-persian-gulf-oil-leak-1.jpg\" "\\"iran")
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Recent reports have drawn attention to a significant issue in Iran involving oil leaks and their resulting environmental disasters. A recent incident, occurring on August 28, was reported through state media<\/a>. It involved a leak from a pipeline responsible for transporting crude oil from Ganaveh Port to Khark Island in the Persian Gulf. This occurrence is not an isolated event but rather part of a recurring challenge associated with Iran’s aging oil and gas pipelines. Moreover, just prior to this incident, another pipeline, which was transporting petroleum products, experienced an explosion<\/a> in the vicinity of Kashar village in Bandar-e Khomeini.<\/p>\n The history of these pipelines, which transport oil for ship loading from Ganaveh Port to Khark Island, Iran’s primary oil export terminal, spans over half a century. It is no surprise that these aging pipelines occasionally develop leaks. In recent years, there have been multiple reports of oil leaks from these pipelines affecting the Persian Gulf’s shores. According to a report by the semi-official ISNA news agency<\/a> on August 22, 2022, one million tons of crude oil are leaked into the Persian Gulf annually.<\/p>\n The lack of investment in renovating or replacing these aging pipelines is evident, as the current regime prioritizes revenue maximization over pipeline maintenance. Replacing these pipelines is an expensive endeavor, one that the regime is unwilling to undertake.<\/p>\n Notably, four years ago, in September 2019, a significant oil leak occurred from one of these pipelines, leading to extensive contamination that reached Bandar Ganaveh’s shores. Astonishingly, it took officials eight days to respond, following images released by a petroleum transport company showing an extensive oil slick covering 20 kilometers. Moreover, in 2016, a gas pipeline located 30 kilometers from Ganaveh exploded and caught fire, resulting in one fatality and several injuries. In an earlier incident in 2009, the Abuzar field pipelines caused extensive oil contamination, stretching over 28 kilometers.<\/p>\n The International Energy Agency<\/a> reported that Iran experiences annual natural gas leaks, resulting in the release of approximately 7.5 billion cubic meters of methane gas. This volume of leaked gas surpasses the entire consumption of countries like Greece and the Czech Republic. The estimated value of this wasted gas stands at around $3 billion annually, equivalent to 10% of Iran’s public budget. Unfortunately, unlike many neighboring Persian Gulf countries, Iran lacks advanced systems for monitoring and controlling pipeline leaks and authorities seem to react only when extensive oil slicks appear on the shores.<\/p>\n A large stretch of the Iranian coast along the Persian Gulf has been polluted by an oil leak from an offshore pipeline, state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reports https:\/\/t.co\/vPwXeTczUS<\/a><\/p>\n — Bloomberg (@business) August 28, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n