A National Iranian Oil Company’s (NIOC) subsidiary has signed an agreement with a domestic firm to construct a $232-million crude storage facility near Iran’s southeastern port of Jask, oil ministry press service SHANA reported (via Reuters).

The NIOC’s Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC) agreed the deal with Petro Omid Asia Company to build the facility over the next three years.

It will have a capacity of 10 million barrels on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

On September 4, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced plans for the country to move its primary export terminal from the Arabian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman to avoid using the strategic Strait of Hormuz, France 24 reported.

He said that exports have already started shifting from the Khark Island terminal to the Jask terminal on the Gulf of Oman, adding that the move would be completed by the end of his term in 2021.