Trans-Arab pipeline

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Route of the tapline from the Persian Gulf to Sidon, Lebanon

The Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline) was founded as a joint venture between the American mineral oil companies Standard Oil from New Jersey (now ExxonMobil ), Standard Oil from California ( Chevron Corporation ), The Texas Company ( Texaco ) and Socony-Vacuum Oil Company ( Mobil Oil ), eventually became a subsidiary of Aramco . The company built and operated the Trans-Arabian Pipeline, a 1214-kilometer 30- inch crude oil pipeline that ran from Qaisuimah in Saudi Arabia to Sidon in Lebanon . In its heyday it was a major factor in the global trade in crude oil and contributed to Lebanon's economic development and relations between the Middle East and the United States .

Construction of the pipeline began in 1947 . The original destination was Haifa in what was then Palestine , but as a result of the establishment of the State of Israel , an alternative route over the Golan Heights in Syria was chosen and the loading terminal was built in Sidon. Operation started in 1950. The initial capacity was 300,000 barrels a day, but was increased to 500,000 barrels by adding a few more pumping stations.

After the 1967 Six Day War , the section of the pipeline that ran through the Golan Heights came under Israeli control, but the Israelis allowed the line to continue operating. After several years of constant dispute between Saudi Arabia, Syria and Lebanon over transit fees, the appearance of super tankers and various breaks in the pipeline, the section from Jordan was shut down in 1976. The remainder of the line between Saudi Arabia and Jordan remained active with a modest transport volume, but was shut down by the Saudis in 1990 out of annoyance over the Jordanian support of Iraq in the Gulf War. Today the entire line is inoperative.

Despite these problems, the tapline is a potential export route for crude oil transportation from the Persian Gulf region to Europe and the United States. An analysis has shown that the transport costs by using the tapline via Haifa to Europe are up to 40 percent lower than shipping with tankers through the Suez Canal . At the beginning of 2005, the restarting of the tapline at a cost of 100 to 300 million US dollars was considered as a strategic measure to meet the demand for crude oil.

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