Is a Russia-Iran gas deal on the horizon?
Russia has ample spare gas, and Iran needs it, but sanctions and pricing pose steep hurdles.
Russia’s gas export industry is in something of a crisis. Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began, Gazprom—Russia’s state-owned gas champion and its monopoly exporter of pipeline gas—has seen its once-lucrative exports to Europe and Turkey plummet by more than 70% in volume terms and by half in revenue, from $50b annually to around $25b. In 2019, Russia was the world’s largest gas exporter, shipping over 100bcm more than Qatar or the US. Today, it trails behind both. The country has at least 120bcm/yr of idle production capacity—more than Norway’s total output—and vast untapped reserves in West Siberia and the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas, plus the technical know-how to build and maintain its
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