Iran to play role of gas hub: Owji
Iran is the safest and cheapest route for energy transit to international waters, said Iran’s oil minister on Thursday, underscoring that the global energy market cannot deny Iran’s key role.
In addition to its rich energy resources, Iran is located at a suitable geographic position, connecting Asia to Europe, and the only land route between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, stated Javad Owji, adding that some countries around Iran are oil and gas exporters and some importers, and such conditions make it easier for Iran to play the role of an energy hub, Shana reported. Owji, who addressed a specialized session of the 6th Russian Energy Week International Forum in Moscow said that considering its natural resources and northern neighbors, Iran is the leading player of energy trade in the Middle East and can turn into a gas hub.
Iran is currently exporting gas to Turkey and Iraq, he said, while Pakistan and India are potential customers of Iran’s gas. Trading and swapping crude oil, oil products, and petrochemicals have given Iran a special status, he mentioned.
Import and export terminals, as well as oil and gas transmission pipelines are indicative of Iran’s great capacity for turning into the region’s energy hub.
Gas supplies discussion
Speaking at the plenary session of the Russian Energy Week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tehran is discussing the possibility of Russian gas supplies with Moscow
“Iranian partners are also discussing with us the opportunities of Russian gas supplies to the Iranian market,” Putin said.
Preparatory activities for the North-South corridor project are close to the end, and construction can start shortly, the Russian president noted.
“We have agreements with all the participants in this process: relevant documents are in place with Iran, and with Azerbaijan. Turkmenistan is showing interest from the other side of the Caspian Sea, and Kazakhstan,” the president added.
Putin remarks on Iran-Russia energy swap welcome
Owji welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks on increasing energy exchanges between the two countries, as his reaction came during his meeting with Russian energy giant Gazprom’s Alexei Miller.
Pointing to his meeting with Russian Deputy Minister Alexander Novak, Owji called for taking practical steps to create a gas hub on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf. Miller, for his part, pointed to growing relations between Moscow and Tehran, expressing Gazprom’s readiness for further cooperation with Iran.
Gazprom to help gas hub creation
Gazprom will explore the issue of potentially creating a gas hub in Iran, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with RT Arabic, adding that Moscow will participate in the project if it has potential.
“I think that our Gazprom Company will explore the issue, and if it is indeed a potentially good project it will participate in it, of course. And Russia as well. But it is necessary to assess and explore it,” he said.
Earlier reports said that Iran, with the participation of Russia, Qatar and Turkmenistan, planned to create a gas hub in the industrial region of Asaluyeh in Bushehr Province.
Asaluyeh serves as the production hub for the world’s largest oil and gas field, which is located in the central part of the Persian Gulf, in Iranian and Qatari territorial waters. The total geological reserves of the field are estimated at 53 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, and 7.7 billion cubic meters of condensate. The recoverable reserves are estimated at 35.6 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, and three billion cubic meters of condensate.