The Trans-Israel pipeline ( he, קו צינור אילת אשקלון), also Tipline, Eilat–Ashkelon Pipeline, or Europe–Asia Pipeline is an oil pipeline in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

extending from the

Gulf of Aqaba The Gulf of Aqaba ( ar, خَلِيجُ ٱلْعَقَبَةِ, Khalīj al-ʿAqabah) or Gulf of Eilat ( he, מפרץ אילת, Mifrátz Eilát) is a large gulf at the northern tip of the Red Sea, east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian ...

on the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

. It was originally built to transport crude oil originating from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

inside Israel and to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. The 254 km, 42" pipeline's capacity from a special pier in

Ashkelon Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border wit ...

to Eilat's

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

on the

is per day, and in the opposite direction. The pipeline is owned and operated by the

Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company The Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company ( he, חברת קו צינור אילת אשקלון בע"מ (קצא”א), also known as the Europe Asia Pipeline Company and by the acronym EAPC) operates several crude petroleum and refined petroleum produc ...

(EAPC) which also operates several other oil pipelines in

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 Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

made an agreement to supply Asian markets with Russian oil delivered by tankers from Novorossiysk to

and then reloaded onto tankers in Eilat for shipment to Asia. 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 Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

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 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. In May 2021, a storage tank in the Ashkelon depot of the pipeline was damaged by a rocket fired from Gaza in the

2021 Israel–Palestine crisis A major outbreak of violence in the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict commenced on 10 May 2021, though disturbances took place earlier, and continued until a ceasefire came into effect on 21 May. It was marked by protests and police riot ...

Legal claim by Iran

Following the 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 favor with an award of $1.1 billion plus interest.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company
1968 establishments in Israel Oil pipelines in Israel Iran–Israel relations

History

Legal claim by Iran

See also

References

External links