Iran will soon sign a deal with Russia to import its natural gas for domestic consumption and deliver the same amount to customers at other parts of the Iranian borders, the Minister of Petroleum of Iran Javad Owji said following a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday with Igor Levitin, an Aide to the Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Iranian Press TV reports.
The Petroleum Minister stated that senior official of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) will travel to Moscow in the near future to sign the gas swap deal with Russia.
“The gas purchase and swap (agreement) with Russia has been finalized and it will be signed in the near future in Moscow between the NIGC and the Russian side,” Owji said.
Iran and Russia, the two major global gas producers, have deepened their energy ties in recent months. Last month, Iran’s state oil company the NIOC and Russia’s Gazprom signed a joint investment deal worth $40 billion. Iranian Petroleum Ministry officials said at the time that gas swap could be a part of the energy cooperation deal.
Iran is currently implementing a gas swap agreement with Turkmenistan under which the imported Turkmen gas is consumed in northeastern Iran and the NIGC delivers the same amount of gas to Azerbaijan in its northwest.
The agreement provides for the supply of 1.5-2 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas per year to Azerbaijan through Iran. In early June 2022, Economy Minister of Azerbaijan Mikayil Jabbarov and Javad Owji signed a memorandum of understanding in Baku, under which gas supplies from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan via Iran will be doubled.
