BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 7. The memorandum signed between Iran and Azerbaijan on increasing the volume of Turkmen gas swapped to Azerbaijan via Iran is important from gas trade point of view, Deputy Director of the International Affairs Department of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Mehran Amirmoeini told Shana News Agency, Trend reports.
Amirmoeini added that the development of gas trade between the three countries results in the strengthening of ties in other areas as well.
Cooperation on the gas swap has revived relations between Iran, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, he said.
The deputy director also said that there are currently many opportunities for gas swaps. For example, Qatari gas can be swapped to Pakistan via Iran, as well as Turkmen and Azerbaijani gas can be swapped to Kuwait via Iran.
On November 28, 2021, a tripartite contract on the swapping of 1.5-2 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas to Azerbaijan through Iran per year was signed between Iran and Azerbaijan in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on the sidelines of the 15th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). The implementation of the contract began on January 1, 2022.
On June 3, 2022, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji and Azerbaijan’s Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov signed a memorandum on cooperation in the field of natural gas.
The Iranian side said that as a result of the memorandum, the volume of Turkmen gas swapped to Azerbaijan via Iran has been doubled.
Iran stands second in the world for gas reserves, with about 34 trillion cubic meters of gas. Reportedly, Iran's gas extraction capacity is more than 1 billion cubic meters.
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