Key export supplies of liquefied oil gas of Iran faced great competition, since Russian goods at reduced prices attract traditional customers of Iran – Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey, about this, with reference to Nikkei, writes the Russian edition Neftegaz.ru.
According to information, liquefied gas exports are one of the main sources of income for the Islamic Republic that suffered from the sanctions. However, deliveries may be at risk, since Western sanctions force Moscow to look for new customers for their energy resources.
The head of oil exporters Iran S.Kh. Hoseini said that liquefied gas was sold to Afghanistan and Pakistan about $ 600- $ 700 per ton, but the Afghans recently stated that they would buy it from Iri at a price of $ 450/t.
The influx of cheaper Russian gas exerted pressure on other regional suppliers such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
By April, Iran managed to increase oil production at various fields to 3.8 million barrels/day, despite the strict sanctions of the United States, designed to paralyze the country’s energy sector. However, Russian deliveries of cheap raw materials have competed in China. Iran has contracts for the sale of Gas Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as gas swaps with Azerbaijan. But, according to analysts, only Iraq will probably remain a client in the long run. According to the head of the National Iranian gas company M. Chegeni, Iraq asked Iran to extend the contract and still seeks to buy gas from his neighbor.
Answering the question of Nikkei, whether Iran loses such customers as Turkey and Afghanistan, M. Chegeni did not deny this assumption. But he only noted that each country can provide its own energy supplies from where it is more efficient and affordable.
Given the anti -Russian sanctions, the revival of a nuclear transaction would allow Iran to export oil and gas to Europe. However, the discussion is paused. After the change of American administration, the efforts to revive the nuclear transaction acquired a new impetus. But just when the agreement was considered achievable, the “military operation” of Russia in Ukraine began. In early March, Moscow demanded that Washington have guarantees that any sanctions against Russia will not be applied to its trade and investment with Iran. Russia, in fact, used the Iranian nuclear deal as a lever to weaken the sanctions that it was aimed at.
Iran now has no other choice but to reduce its own gas prices to compete with Russian discounts.