TEHRAN ( WNAM MONITORING): Russia and Iran have agreed on a gas pipeline route to the Islamic republic through Azerbaijan, negotiations are in the final stage of agreeing on the price of supplies, Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov told reporters.
“We have agreed on the route through Azerbaijan. We are now in the final stage of negotiations – approving the price. The volumes have already been fixed. Price is always a commercial issue, a search for a compromise, so working groups have been formed on both sides, and specialists are developing an approach to pricing,” the minister said, according to TASS.
Tsivilyov clarified that the basic solution for the price is the parity of the calorific value of oil and gas with a certain ratio, in which the parties still have differences.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the project to build a gas pipeline from Russia to Iran is underway, with supplies at the first stage potentially amounting to 2 billion cubic meters, with the prospect of increasing them to 55 billion cubic meters. Russia and Iran are also discussing cooperation in the oil sector, Putin added.
In late June 2024, Gazprom and the National Iranian Gas Company signed a strategic memorandum on developing the organization of Russian gas supplies to Iran. The parties also discussed priority steps to implement the memorandum and other areas of cooperation in the energy sector.
Later, the Iranian side noted that about 300 million cubic meters of gas will be supplied daily from Russia to Iran via the Caspian Sea. Based on the terms of the agreement, Iran will be able to resell the excess imported gas to other countries. The agreement is concluded for 30 years, and it will bring Iran about $10-12 billion annually.
Earlier, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Moscow and Tehran were discussing, with the participation of Qatar and Turkmenistan, the creation of an energy hub, as well as swap supplies to northern Iran and the possibility of creating an electronic gas trading platform in the south of the Islamic Republic. In the fall of 2023, then Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji reported that Tehran and Gazprom had identified joint projects worth $40 billion.
