Page 6 - DMEA Week 39 2022

DMEA SECURITY & POLICY DMEA

Iranian researcher voices doubts

about gas swap deal with Russia

MIDDLE EAST MORTEZA Behruzifar, a researcher at Iran’s not be able to support the desired increase in
Institute for International Energy Studies (IIES), shipments to Oman and Pakistan via the con-
has said he does not expect the signing of a nat- struction of new production facilities, he said.
ural gas swap agreement between Tehran and “[We] don’t have an LNG plant. Russia
Moscow to bear much fruit. doesn’t have the technology either. All the units
Behruzifar noted in an interview with ILNA that are currently in operation [in Russia] are
that Iran’s government has been talking up the American and European,” he remarked. “So far,
potential financial benefits of co-operation with Russia has not been able to set up even a small
Russia, which is not party to the US-led sanc- unit of its own, so [we can’t] expect it to do it
tions regime that seeks to discourage invest- for us.”
ment in the Iranian oil and gas sector. Now that Iranian news agencies reported earlier this
Russia too has been hit with US sanctions, Iran month that Tehran and Moscow were prepar-
has attempted to step up co-operation and has ing to implement a previously signed gas swap
signed documents designed to lay the ground- agreement. The deal calls for Russia to use pipe-
work for gas swaps that would facilitate Russian lines through Azerbaijan to deliver 9mn cubic
LNG exports to Oman and Pakistan via south- metres per day of gas to Iran for use in its own
ern Iranian ports, he said. domestic market. In exchange, Iran will export
These overtures are well intentioned but the equivalent of 6 mcm per day of gas on Rus-
not likely to yield much in the way of concrete sia’s behalf in the form of LNG from its own
results, he argued. He said he was not at all cer- southern ports and also boost pipeline deliveries
tain that Moscow was willing to work closely of gas to Iraq and Turkey. ™
with Tehran in a way that benefited the Iranian
gas sector. Indeed, Russia appears to view Iran
as a rival rather than a partner, especially since
both have been targeting European gas markets,
he commented.
Moreover, he continued, even before the
US government imposed sanctions on Russia’s
oil and gas sector in response to the conflict in
Ukraine, Russia did not invest “a single rial” in
Iran. Instead, it effectively abided by US trade
restrictions, he said.
Behruzifar went on to assert that co-opera-
tion with Russia would not bring many benefits
to the Iranian gas sector. Russia does not have
any home-grown gas liquefaction technologies
and has had to depend on foreign partners for
the construction of all its LNG plants, so it will Russian and Iranian officials discussed the swap in Tehran in August (Photo: Shana)

Iranian oil workers threaten to strike

if crackdown on protests is not ended

MIDDLE EAST IRANIAN oil industry contract workers have Such a strike could cripple an essential sec-
warned the government that they will strike if it tor of the Iranian economy, as oil is the gov-
does not end its crackdown on protesters, who ernment’s largest source of income. The Iran
have been demonstrating against Iran’s ruling Human Rights Organisation said on September
regime for nearly two weeks in scores of towns 27 that at least 76 people had been killed in the
and cities, Radio Farda has reported. ongoing protests.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 39 29•September•2022