Russia and Iran agree to swap supplies of oil and gas – senior official

The deal is a part of an energy alliance and is expected to be signed by end of this year, Russia’s deputy prime-minister has said

Russia’s deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak announced on Thursday that Moscow and Tehran may agree a swap of supplies, of five million tons of oil and ten billion cubic meters of gas, to be completed by year’s end.

He added that the two countries were currently working out routes and technical arrangements for the exchange of supplies.

“At first stage it will be about five million tons (of oil) a year and ten billion cubic meters of gas,” Novak specified, pointing out that the countries are now focused on “transportation, logistics and price issues.” He said that economists should first work out commercial contracts in detail, adding that the work is underway.

In May, Novak had announced that Moscow and Tehran were in talks over supplies of energy resources to the north of Iran and had discussed possible routes, including transportation by sea, rail and pipeline.

In July, Russia’s state-owned energy major Gazprom and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) signed a deal to cooperate on the development of two gas deposits and six oil fields in Iran. The document also covers exchange operations with natural gas and oil products, implementing LNG projects, and constructing export gas pipelines.

In late September, Fars News Agency said that the potential cost of the deal could be worth $40 billion.

READ MORE: Middle Eastern state plans major Russian gas purchase

Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Ahmad Asadzade told RIA Novosti on Thursday that his country expected to sign several agreements with Russia in the oil and gas sector within half a year.

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