The amount of gas Russia plans to export to Iran each year was revealed by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on January 17.
President Putin said that although the goal is to reach 55 billion cubic meters of gas exports to Iran per year, the initiative will start with small volumes, from 2 billion cubic meters.
Interfax news agency quoted Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev as saying that this amount of gas could be shipped to Iran via Azerbaijan.
The target amount of gas that Russia plans to supply to Iran each year is equivalent to the amount of gas that the Nord Stream gas pipeline transported to Europe before it was sabotaged in 2022.
In June 2024, Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Iranian Gas Company to facilitate gas supplies via Russian pipelines to Iran, although the planned gas pipeline routes were not disclosed.
Iran has the world's second largest gas reserves but still has to import gas due to lack of investment and the impact of US sanctions.
Last July, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji said that Iran would receive about 300 million cubic meters of Russian gas per day, equivalent to about 110 billion cubic meters per year.
Since the conflict in Ukraine broke out in 2022, Russia's Gazprom's dominance of the European gas market has declined significantly.
The upheaval deepened when Russian gas exports to Europe via pipelines across Ukraine were halted, ending dependence on the Soviet-era pipeline and marking a shift in Europe's energy landscape.
This change has prompted EU gas buyers, including those in Slovakia and Austria, to look for alternative gas sources.
Iran has the world's second-largest gas reserves after Russia, but US sanctions have hampered access to technology and slowed the development of gas exports.
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Russian energy giant Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding worth about $40 billion in July 2022.
Gazprom has pledged to support NIOC in developing the Kish and North Pars gas fields and six oil fields. Gazprom also plans to participate in completing liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects and building gas export pipelines.
Gazprom and the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) signed a memorandum of understanding in June 2024 on supplying Russian gas via pipeline to Iran.
Future Russian-Iranian gas cooperation is likely to involve the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, according to Reuters. The UK-based news agency noted that Russia has long planned to participate in the project but has been stalled due to sanctions and political disagreements in Iran.
India was initially involved in the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project but withdrew in 2009 under pressure from Washington. The political deadlock between India and Pakistan has also complicated the pipeline's construction plans.
