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Article: IAN BOWLER
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- August 11, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Engineer who laid an historic high-altitude oil pipeline between
Iran and the Soviet Union
Legendary oil and gas pipeline engineer, serious sailor, poet,
short story writer, flamenco guitarist, naturalist, falconer, expert
cook, raconteur and polymath: Ian Bowler was all of these.
His greatest achievement was getting a contract from the
government of Iran to design and construct a gas pipeline from
Ahwaz, near the Persian Gulf, to Astara, the Soviet border town on
the Caspian. This high-pressure pipeline, completed in 1970 at a
cost of $800m, was an outstanding technical and political
achievement. It had taken four years from the signing of the
contract to operation. Forty-two inches in ...