Iran to Import 9 mcm of Russian Gas Daily: Report
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian Oil Ministry announced on Monday that the country will soon purchase 9 million cubic meters of gas per day from Russia via Azerbaijan.
The ministry announced the plan in a report detailing a 40-billion-dollar deal struck in July between the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Russia's state-owned gas producer Gazprom.
The ministry also stated that it will soon receive 6 million cubic meters of gas per day from Russia as part of a swap agreement to export it in LNG (liquefied natural gas) to other countries from southern Iran.
The agreement also calls for the completion of gas pipelines from Iran to Pakistan and Oman, as well as the completion of a number of LNG production projects in the country.
The development of Iran's Kish and North Pars gas fields, as well as six oilfields, boosting pressure in the South Pars Gas Field, completion of LNG projects, swap of gas and petroleum products, and construction of gas transfer pipelines are among the highlights of the deal, according to the ministry's news service Shana.
However, the new data suggest Iran will use the 15 mcm per day of gas supply from Russia to strengthen its domestic supply network in the densely populated regions in the northwest while being able to export increased amounts of natural gas to Turkey and Iraq through pipelines in the west of the country.
Iran is already in a gas swap arrangement with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan under which it consumes gas received from Turkmenistan in its northeastern regions and delivers the same amount of gas to Azerbaijan.