Speaking on the sidelines of the second Caspian Economic Forum in Moscow on 6 October, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji said that he thinks Iran is on its way to becoming a “regional hub” for Russian fuel.

“The transit and exchange of Russian oil and gas through Iran will make Iran the center of the region in terms of energy, and the country will receive a lot of foreign exchange income,” Owji told reporters.

The Iranian official also highlighted that “there is a joint project for the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and technologies related to gas facilities with the Russian company Gazprom.”

Similarly, Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister Ahmad Assadzadeh revealed that the Islamic Republic expects to conclude several gas and oil cooperation agreements with Russia within the next six months.

“During the recent talks with Russia, we made good progress in implementing the memorandum with Gazprom. Therefore, I hope that several agreements will be concluded in the next 6 months,” Asadzadeh told Russian news agency Sputnik.

Asadzadeh also commented on the major oil supply cut by OPEC+, saying: “We hope that the current conditions will lead to more cohesion between Iran and Russia in the development of bilateral projects in the oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors.”

Iran and Russia have a reported 70 trillion cubic meters of liquified natural gas (LNG) reserves, representing 30 percent of the world’s supply.

As part of the growing relationship between the two nations to overcome western sanctions, in July, state-owned multinational energy corporation Gazprom signed a $40 billion investment agreement with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) – the largest in the history of Iran’s oil industry.

Additionally, just last month, the Islamic Republic announced it would begin to import Russian gas through pipelines from Azerbaijan. The deal also includes establishing a pipeline to export Iranian gas to Pakistan and the Sultanate of Oman.

Iran has also become a transport hub for Russian goods headed to India through the eastern branch of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).