Russia and Iran are looking at moving ahead with oil and gas swap deals, with “technical details being worked out,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters. Novak said initial swaps might start at 5 million metric tons/yr (100,000 b/d) of crude oil and 10 Bcm/yr of gas, and he indicated that an agreement might be reached this year.
Moscow is seeking to expand economic ties with Iran and other “friendly” countries as it faces sanctions from the US, the EU and other countries over the war in Ukraine.
The oil and gas swaps would be separate deals. On the oil side, Russia and Iran have been considering a revival of their Caspian oil swap deals under which Iran used to get up to 150,000 b/d of crude from Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan for its two northern refineries at Tabriz and Tehran. In return, the Russian shippers were allocated an equivalent volume of Iranian Light crude at the Kharg Island oil terminal in southern Iran.
Iran has also been looking at deals under which it would receive refined oil products from Russia.
Taken from energyintel