IRAN: Russia Prepared To Participate In Iranian Petrochemical Production

Wires reporting comments from Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji, following a meeting with Russian Deputy Minister Alexander Novak in Tehran, stating: “Russian companies ready to participate in petrochemical production projects in Iran.”

• The comments are the latest in a series of public statements suggesting that Moscow may be preparing to invest heavily in the Iranian energy sector.
• Novak said after a meeting in Tehran in May, 2023: "I am pleased to announce that major Russian companies have already arrived in Iran, came to terms with Iranian companies, and contracts are already being fulfilled."
• Iran International, a media outlet considered hostile by the Iranian government, reported in December 2023: “Over the past two years, Iranian officials have time and again made optimistic statements about widening energy cooperation with Russia, but so far, there is no concrete evidence of any substantial contributions by Russia.”
• Iran International notes that a 2022 USD$40 billionmemorandum of understanding, the largest in Iran’s history, between National Iranian Oil Company and Russia’s Gazprom to develop oil and gas fields has failed to deliver any results.
• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace thinktank wrote in November 2022: “Given that Russia and Iran hold the world’s first and second biggest gas resources, respectively, many believe this cooperation threatens to give rise to a “global gas cartel.” In reality, the implementation of these ambitious plans may be thwarted by sanctions and other obstacles.”