Iran Plans to Create a Regional Natural Gas Hub

 Iran is looking to set up a natural gas hub in the Persian Gulf and is cooperating with Russia, Qatar, and Turkmenistan to that end, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji said on Wednesday.

“With the cooperation of Russia, Turkmenistan, and Qatar, we are trying to have a gas hub in the Asaluyeh region, and its preparations are being planned,” Iranian media quoted Owji as saying today.

Asaluyeh is a port and energy hub in the southern Bushehr province in the Gulf.

Iran will also continue its natural gas swap deals with neighboring countries, the Iranian oil minister added.

Iran is estimated to hold the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves, second only to Russia, and ahead of Qatar, Turkmenistan, and the United States.

With 32 trillion cubic meters, Iran is home to 16% of global natural gas reserves.

A lot of Iran’s gas reserves are concentrated in the South Pars offshore field in the Persian Gulf, which it shares with Qatar. Total production for 2020 reached 234 billion cubic meters or a daily average of 645 million cubic meters.

Development of the country’s massive gas reserves has been challenging because of the pullout of Western supermajors such as TotalEnergies in the wake of the reinstated U.S. sanctions against Tehran by former President Donald Trump.

In recent years, Iran has forged closer ties with Russia and Venezuela, which are also under sanctions by the U.S. and the West.

Last month, reports emerged that Iran and Russia are considering the joint development of as many as ten oil and gas fields in Iran following a meeting between Iranian officials and a Russian delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. The proposal has come from the Iranian side amid talks about developing other oil and gas resources in the country.