The signing of a memorandum on the organization of Russian gas supplies to Iran between Gazprom and the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) will turn the Islamic Republic into a regional gas hub and will become the foundation for concluding larger Russian-Iranian contracts.
This was stated by Acting President of Iran Mohammad Mohber. "With the signing of this memorandum, Iran will become a regional gas hub," the presidential press service quoted Mohber as saying at a meeting with Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller in Tehran. "The determination of Tehran and Moscow to raise the level of relations carries an important message to the whole world, and the beginning of the path of gas cooperation between the two countries will lead to the signing of larger agreements and contracts," the Iranian politician said.
According to the press service of the acting Iranian president, Miller said at a meeting with Mohber that the Russian holding company and its subsidiaries "intend to turn this memorandum into a contract so that its provisions can be implemented as soon as possible." As the Minister of Oil of the Islamic Republic, Javad Oudji, said on the air of the state IRIB TV channel following the meeting with Miller, "there is every reason to believe that the memorandum will soon turn into a contract and become an important deal for both Iran and the Russian government." Oudji noted that Russia and Iran together possess more than 60% of the world's gas reserves, and Russian-Iranian agreements will contribute to the formation of an "energy balance in the region." The minister clarified that the country "with its infrastructure and gas pipelines will be fully ready to receive such a volume of gas."
On June 26, Gazprom and NIGC signed a strategic memorandum on working out the organization of Russian gas supplies to Iran during Miller's visit to Tehran. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak previously reported that the Iranian side is interested in gas supplies from Russia, and this issue is being worked out. Tehran and Moscow are discussing, with the participation of Qatar and Turkmenistan, the creation of an energy hub, as well as swap supplies to the north of Iran and the possibility of creating an electronic gas trading platform in the south of the Islamic Republic.
In 2022, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Gazprom signed a memorandum of strategic cooperation. The document provides for an analysis of the possibilities of cooperation in the development of oil and gas and oil fields, the exchange of natural gas and petroleum products, the implementation of large-tonnage and low-tonnage LNG projects, the construction of main gas pipelines, scientific, technical and technological cooperation. Last fall, Oudji reported that Iran had identified $40 billion worth of joint projects with Gazprom, was finalizing negotiations and expected to put these projects into practice soon. In particular, the Russian company is considering the possibility of developing the Kish and Severny Pars fields with a subsequent project to liquefy gas and supply it to world markets.