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Trans-Israel pipeline (Hebrew: קו צינור אילת אשקלון), also Tipline or Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline is an oil pipeline in Israel that transported crude oil from Iran to Israel and Europe.
History
The pipeline was built in 1968. Iran halted use of the pipeline after Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown in the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979. The 254 km, 42" pipeline's capacity from a special pier in Ashkelon to Eilat's port on the Red Sea is 400,000 barrels (64,000 m3) per day, and 1.2 million barrels per day (190,000 m3/d) in the opposite direction. The pipeline is owned and operated by the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC) which also operates several other oil pipelines in Israel.
In 2003, Israel and Russia made an agreement to supply Asian markets with Russian oil delivered by tankers from Novorossiysk to Ashkelon and then reloaded onto tankers in Eilat for shipment to Asia. In other words, the oil would flow in the direction opposite to the one intended when the pipeline was originally constructed. This route from Europe to Asia is shorter than the traditional one around Africa, 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
Following 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 favour with an award of $1.1 billion plus interest.