- Russian energy giant Gazprom partners Iranian Gas Company for pipeline gas supplies to the Iran
- The cooperation deal is part of Iranian plans to become an international gas hub with the participation of Russia, Qatar, and Turkmenistan.
- Moscow and Tehran forge closer energy and trade partnership as both countries battle with Western sanctions.
By: Muhammad Arif
Moscow: Amid geopolitical tensions in the Eurasia, Russian energy giant, Gazprom, has sealed a strategic memorandum with National Iranian Gas Company for transferring natural gas from Moscow to the Iran, according to a statement issued the Gazprom by on Wednesday.
The cooperation agreement was sealed IN Iran’s capital Tehran during a visit to Iran by a Russian delegation headed by Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller, who met with Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji.
Gazprom in its statement said that it has signed the document with the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) in the presence of Iran’s acting president, Mohammad Mokhber.
“The parties take as a premise that they will be further developing the long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation between them,” the Gazprom stated.
The signing ceremony was reportedly attended by interim Iranian President Mohammad Mokhber. No details about the memorandum have been revealed.
Iran, a major oil-producing country with large deposits and its own refineries, announced in 2023 plans to create an international gas hub with the participation of Russia, Qatar, and Turkmenistan.
In his remarks Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji said last year that Iran was seeking to partner with Russia to develop new oil deposits in the country in addition to existing joint projects.
Later, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak confirmed there were discussions about producing gas within a hub in southern Iran with the participation of Russian companies. Novak, however, noted that “it will take time to give this a specific shape.”
Moscow and Tehran have been forging closer energy and trade ties as both countries are under Western sanctions.
Russian company, Novak, in 2022, announced a massive energy deal with Iran worth $40 billion and an agreement to swap supplies of oil and natural gas. Since then, the two countries have been working out the routes and technical aspects of the deal. Russia made its first fuel deliveries to Iran by rail in April 2023.
Mostly Russian energy cargo to Iran passes through overland route of Azerbaijan, which is part of the so-called International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a 7,200-kilometer-long multi-mode transit system that connects ship, rail, and road routes for moving cargo between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Russia, and the rest of Europe.
The construction work of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), started in the early 2000s, but developing it further has taken on a new impetus in light of Western sanctions that have forced Russia to shift its trade routes towards Asia and the Middle East.
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