Iran has signed cooperation agreements with the Russian energy giant Gazprom worth $40 billion, Iran’s Petroleum Minister Javad Owji announced on Wednesday.
The minister said planned projects include the construction of liquefied natural gas complexes in Iran and the development of Iran’s gas fields and gas export transmission lines, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Russia and Iran have begun swapping oil and petroleum products and are discussing a gas swap, Owji said, adding that he hoped such a deal could begin this winter.
In October, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari said Tehran planned to cut gas transfer costs by importing Russian gas to supply the country’s north while exporting Iranian gas from the country’s southern provinces to foreign markets.