SOVIET CONSTRUCTION OF NATURAL GAS PIPELINE FROM IRAN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78T05162A000100010029-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 2, 2011
• Sequence Number: 29
• Publication Date: January 1, 1971
• Content Type: REPORT

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2010
NATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC
INTERPRETATION CENTER
PHOTOGRAPHIC
INTERPRETATION
REPORT
SOVIET CONSTRUCTION OF
NATURAL GAS PIPELINE FROM IRAN
GROUP 1: EXCLUDED FROM
AUTOMATIC DOWNGRADING
AND DECLASSIFICATION
JANUARY 1971
COPY NO
3 PAGES
PIR-068/70
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/02 : CIA-RDP78TO5162A000100010029-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/02 : CIA-RDP78TO5162A000100010029-9
TOP SECRET RUFF
1. The USSR section of the natural gas pipeline being constructed from the
Aqa Jari oil field in Iran to Kazi-Magomed, USSR, has been studied on KEYHOLE
photography to determine its status and course. The pipeline, which will tie
into the existing Karadag/Akstafa/Tbilisi gas pipeline, will provide an in-
expensive energy source for the economic development of the Transcaucasus region.
2. The USSR section of the pipeline extends 108 nautical miles (nm) from
Astara on the Iranian border to a point north of Kazi-Magomed (Figure 1). On
KH-4 (search) photography of May 1970, the line appeared generally complete
except for a 24-nm section between Prishib and Lenkoran Airfield as well as
numerous short segments elsewhere for crossing streams and roads. No branch
lines to any of the towns along the course of the line were observed, and no
compressor station was yet evident. The exact point north of Kazi-Magomed
where the line will join the Karadag/Akstafa/Tbilisi pipeline could not be
determined on the photography. The crossing of the Astarachay river from Iran
to the western outskirts of Astara was not completed. Meanwhile, the Iranian
section of the pipeline, extending 450 nm from Aqa Jari in southern Iran to
Astara, is being completed by the National Iranian Oil Company.
3. Analysis of the terrain from photography indicated that there were few
problems to cope with in laying the pipeline in the USSR section. The first
18 nm of the pipeline north from Astara crosses cultivated and level land, and
further north, in the vicinity of Pensar, it crosses low hills and numerous
small intermittent streams. The last, 90-nm leg of the line, from the vicinity
of Lenkoran to Kazi-Magomed, crosses terrain that varies only slightly in re-
lief. This area is predominantly cultivated and has some marshy areas. The
pipeline is not entrenched deeply in the ground and is exposed as it crosses
over streams. The highest elevation the pipeline crosses is through a cut on
a ridge approximately 280 feet above sea level in the vicinity of Lenkoran. The
lowest elevation is approximately 50 feet below sea level at Kazi-Magomed.
4. The early stages of construction on the pipeline began
numerous pipe sections,
trenching machinery, and support vehicles were observed in a cultivated area at
the western edge of Astara and large stockpiles of pipe were observed in the
rail yards of Astara and Salyany (Figure 2).
a construction unit was observed laying pipe 1.2 nm west of
Shaglaser inset, Figure 1). These pipe sections measure 17.0 meters (56 feet
25X1
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NPIC/IEG/WGD/EURB Project 143261NO
- 1 -
TOP SECRET RUFF
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TOP SECRET RUFF
Oys Kllyannskayo Kosa
\\.Nosos"yy. APSHERONSKlY P(
o,.
SUMGAIT
\ CY : HTAGF 1 '
s`SUN
KARADAG', 'r~ fn,1 OSTROV
ri' NARGIN
PRISHIB
- SALYANY ?
U S R \ SHAGLASER
SEE INSET A LENKORAN
I R A N
OSTROV DUVANNYY
I !J-LI1JJ J 1 1 1 1~ ~ 1 1 I I I~ 11 1 1 1 t J11
,:.Y, AIYAT I 1
FIGURE 1. ROUTE OF USSR SECTION OF NATURAL GAS PIPELINE FROM IRAN
2 -
TOP SECRET RUFF
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TOP SECRET
TOP SECRET
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/02 : CIA-RDP78T05162A000100010029-9