TEHRAN – Iran’s oil minister Javad Owji says the ministry is pursuing plans to turn the country into the Middle East’s gas hub through cooperation with Qatar, Russia and Turkmenistan.
Speaking on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday, Owji said that his department has made plans to make Iran a gas hub in the region given the country’s proper geographical situation and its 33 trillion cubic meters of extractable gas.
“Through cooperation with Russia, Turkmenistan and Qatar, we are trying to have a gas hub in the Asaluyeh port in the Persian Gulf region, with preparations being planned,” he added.
“Considering the fact that Iran’s gas network and transmission lines are unique in the region and the world, the stage is fully set for Iran to become a gas hub in view of the volume of the country’s gas reserves and infrastructure.”
Additionally, Owji noted, the Oil Ministry has put on its agenda a plan for increasing Iran’s share in energy trade with neighboring countries.
He also said that the government of President Ebrahim Raisi is pursuing energy diplomacy, among other key policies.
Iran currently sits on the second largest gas reserves in the world. The country is also the third largest global producer of natural gas after the United States and Russia with some 1 billion cubic meters per day of output.
Owji also highlighted the Oil Ministry’s policy to use the capacity provided by offshore refineries.
“Petrochemicals cannot be sanctioned due to the need for them all over the world. One of the main jobs of the Oil Ministry is to use the capacity provided by offshore refineries in different countries. Fortunately, it happened for the first time in the Latin American region and Venezuela, where the Iranian oil is processed in refineries,” he said.
Member of the Iranian Parliament’s Energy Commission Mostafa Nakhaei pointed to a gas contract inked between Iran and Turkmenistan and said that the gas contract between the two countries will help the stability of gas supplies in northern and northeastern parts of the country.
The general orientation of the Ministry of Oil in the field of energy diplomacy is positive, Nakhaei stated, adding that strengthening the energy diplomacy with neighboring countries is one of the strengths of the administration of President Ebrahim Raisi.
He went on to say that the gas contract between Iran and Turkmenistan will be signed in the very near future as the current administration is moving towards boosting relations with neighbors.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Nakhaei pointed to the sanctions imposed against the country and added that bolstering cooperation with neighboring states can help the country circumvent the sanctions.