Iranian Oil Minister, in Moscow, Talks Up Trade, Gas with Russia
Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said during a visit to Moscow on Friday that Iran would boost cooperation with Russia in agriculture, banking, fuel and gas, while removing barriers in all spheres of cooperation between the two countries.
Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev, speaking alongside Paknejad, said that Russia may supply 1.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas to Iran this year, at a price yet to be agreed, Reuters reported.
Russia has deepened ties with Iran since the start of the military conflict in Ukraine and signed a strategic partnership treaty with Tehran in January. Both countries are under Western sanctions.
Russia has a long history of cooperation with Iran and helped build a nuclear reactor at Bushehr in the south of the country, Iran’s first.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in January in the Kremlin, said Russia may eventually supply up to 55 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year to Iran, though starting from lower volumes of up to 2 bcm.
A figure of 55 bcm would be similar to the throughput of the Nord Stream 1 undersea pipelines to Europe that were damaged by blasts in 2022 and have not delivered any gas since then.
