BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 31. Iran intends to increase gas trade (import, export and swap) by holding discussions, signing agreements and contracts with neighboring countries, including Turkmenistan, Iran's Oil Minister Javad Owji told reporters after the meeting of the Cabinet of Iran in Tehran on May 31, Trend reports.
The minister said that Iran ranks second after Russia in terms of gas reserves. However, Iran's share in world gas trade is less than 2 percent.
Owji added that as a result of the activity of the current Iranian government (which has been in power since August 2021), Turkmen gas began to be swapped to Azerbaijan through Iran as of the beginning of 2022, and later the volume of swapped gas increased twice.
Commenting on the oil agreements with Oman, the Iranian minister noted that the Hengam oil field is a joint oil field between Iran and Oman. An agreement was reached between the two countries on the exploration and development of this field by a joint working group. First, research will be conducted on this field and then it will be developed.
As reported, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan signed a contract on swap gas supplies in the Turkmen capital on November 28, 2021. The document provided for the supply of Turkmen gas to Azerbaijan through Iran in the amount of up to 1.5-2 billion cubic meters per year. The implementation of the contract began on January 1, 2022.
Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov and Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji signed a memorandum of understanding in Baku on June 3, 2022, according to which it was envisaged to double the supply of Turkmen gas to Azerbaijan through Iran.
Iran stands second in the world for gas reserves, with about 34 trillion cubic meters of gas. Reportedly, Iran's gas production capacity is more than 1 billion cubic meters.
The Hengam oil field is a joint oil field between Iran and Oman. The field contains more than 700 million barrels of oil and 566 billion cubic meters (2 trillion cubic feet) of gas.
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