Russia, Iran in talks on gas hub, development of Iranian gas fields
Moscow, Russia – Russian and Iranian companies are currently negotiating the creation of a gas hub in Iran and the development of gas fields, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Russian news agency TASS.
"We are working in this area, our companies are interacting," he said, answering the question whether the intergovernmental commission on February 28 will discuss the creation of a gas hub, and whether it is possible to sign an agreement on joint gas projects there.
Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji said that the country has defined joint projects with Russian energy giant Gazprom for $40bn and is finalising negotiations and expects to put these projects into practice soon.
Earlier it was reported that Iran, with the participation of Russia, Qatar and Turkmenistan, plans to create a gas hub in the industrial region of Assaluyeh, located in Bushehr province on the northern shore of the Persian Gulf.
In May last year, Novak had said that Russia and Iran are currently discussing the possibility of creating an electronic gas trading platform in southern Iran. To implement this project, it is necessary to attract partners and suppliers, to find sources of supply, one of which could be Iranian gas produced with the participation of Russian companies.
Boosting bilateral trade
Novak expects that the agreement on a free trade zone between the Eurasian Economic union (EAEU) and Iran, which was signed last December, will significantly increase the volume of trade between the countries.
"Our absolute priority is a further consistent increase in trade volumes. This will be facilitated by the free trade agreement between the EAEU and Iran, which was concluded last December on the sidelines of the meeting of the Higher Eurasian Economic Commission in St Petersburg," he said.
Novak noted that the next 17th meeting of the permanent Russian-iranian commission on trade and economic cooperation, which will soon be held in Tehran, will give an additional impetus to cooperation.
"As part of the commission’s work, the co-chairman of the commission from the Iranian side, the Minister of Oil of Iran, my friend, Mr Javad Owji, and I pay special attention to the implementation of large projects that allow us to build up trade and economic partnership between our countries," he added.
According to Novak, Russia and Iran have almost completely transferred payments between two countries to national currencies and to their own bank messaging systems.
"We have switched almost completely to settlements in national currencies and the transmission of banking messages using our national (systems). This allows us not to depend on those who are trying to hinder the development of our economies," he said.
"We really have a lot in common, we work in a bilateral and multilateral format. Our Iranian friends have joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS. There is also huge potential for developing cooperation with Russia and with all the countries that are members of these organizations," Novak added.
We have switched almost completely to settlements in national currencies and the transmission of banking messages using our national systems
ALEXANDER NOVAK