Russia has found a partial replacement for the European gas market: Moscow and Tehran have agreed to increase supplies in the amount of up to 15 million cubic meters per day. This was reported by the Iranian agency Fars with reference to the document of the agreement.
Deliveries will pass through the territory of Azerbaijan. Based on the memorandum of understanding between the National Oil Company of Iran and Russian Gazprom, the total value of the contract will be $40 billion. The document provides for gas supplies from Russia to Iran in the amount of 9 million cubic meters per day, as well as another 6 million cubic supplies to other countries.
We are talking about the so-called swap supplies: Iran will receive 6 million cubic meters of gas through pipelines, and through its southern terminals of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will supply similar volumes to other countries. Moreover, the parties agreed to expand cooperation in the oil and gas industry – in particular, Gazprom can help Iran build a gas pipeline that will link Pakistan and Oman.
The volume of deliveries to Iran is incommensurable in comparison with the European gas market. In 2021, Russia supplied Europe with 140 billion cubic meters of gas through pipelines, or 383.6 million cubic meters of gas per day. At the moment, the volume of gas supplies to Europe has fallen to the lowest levels in history. The Yamal-Europe and Nord Stream gas pipelines are not working, and gas supplies through Ukraine have fallen by up to a third, which provoked an energy crisis in Europe.