Iran proposes new gas hub with Russia, Qatar, Turkmenistan

The project revolves around the southern Iranian city of Asaluyeh, which is the closest land point to the largest gas field in the world, the Qatari and Iranian-owned South Pars field.

By News Desk- June 08 2023

https://thecradle.co/article-view/25785/iran-proposes-new-gas-hub-with-russia-qatar-turkmenistan

Iran is planning to transform the industrial zone of the Persian Gulf coast into a major regional gas hub in coordination with Russia, Qatar, and Turkmenistan, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji was quoted as saying on 7 June by ISNA news agency.

“[Iran,] with 33 trillion cubic meters of recoverable gas reserves, ranks second in the world in terms of reserves of this resource. We are striving to turn the Persian Gulf and Asaluyeh into a gas hub, with the assistance of Russia, Turkmenistan and Qatar,” Owji said.

Asaluyeh is an Iranian city on the coast of the Persian Gulf, located in the country’s southern Bushehr province. It is home to the Pars Special Energy Economic Zone (PSEEZ), and is the closest land point to the world’s largest gas field, the South Pars field.

This field is under the shared ownership of Iran and Qatar, and is expected to represent a major part of the project announced by Owji.

Just two days earlier, Secretary-General of OPEC+ Haitham al-Ghais, told Iranian news outlet SHANA that when sanctions are lifted against the Islamic Republic, Iran will be fully welcomed back into the oil market.

It is worth noting that Iran is a founding member of OPEC+.

This comes after it was reported on Tuesday that around $24 billion of Iran’s frozen assets will soon be released from Iraq and South Korea, as part of an Omani-mediated effort to revive nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington.

“We believe that Iran is a responsible player amongst its family members, the countries in the OPEC group. I’m sure there will be good work together, in synchronization, to ensure that the market will remain balanced as OPEC has continued to do over the past many years,” Ghais was quoted as saying by SHANA.

“In OPEC…we don’t target a certain price level. All our actions, all our decisions are made in order to have a good balance between global oil demand and global oil supply,” he added.

This comes in the aftermath of the Saudi-Iranian reconciliation, which has seen Washington’s most prominent Gulf ally shift away from the west in favor of greater regional cooperation and economic integration.

It also follows Iran’s significant boost in energy cooperation with Russia and several other West Asian and Central Asian nations.