Iran’s Role in Meeting Europe’s Gas Needs Through Proxy

By: Kayhan Int’l

Iran holds the world’s 17 percent proven natural gas reserves estimated at 1,203 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), placing it second after Russia, until now the chief supplier of this vital source of energy to Western Europe.

Russia’s gas flow to Europe has been greatly slashed because of the NATO war in Ukraine and Washington’s pressures on its European allies to politicize trade and industry through by playing the terroristic card of sanctions in a bid to undermine Moscow’s economy.

Energy-starved Europe with no direct pipeline connection to Iran, with which it dare not directly deal in fear of the US, has turned to the Caucasus Republic of Azerbaijan to procure supplies via the Caspian Sea from Turkmenistan which possesses the world’s 4th largest natural gas reserves basin. 

Azerbaijan which sorely lacks the financial, technical, and political means for laying a pipeline to Turkmenistan on the other side of the Caspian and whose own meagre natural gas production barely meets its growing domestic needs, has nevertheless given commitment to neighbouring Georgia and through it to Europe to procure natural gas supplies.

As a result, there is no other solution but to turn to the Islamic Republic of Iran for resolving this grave problem. 

Tehran has welcomed the proposal and by signing a trilateral agreement has undertaken the responsibility to swap Turkmen gas for supplies to Azerbaijan.

The volume of gas being transited between Turkmenistan, Iran, and Azerbaijan is now expected to grow by 70 percent this year.

Iran has seized this opportunity to push ahead with its own plans to expand its gas transit infrastructure with the apparent aim of boosting its capacity to transit gas between its neighbours.

With the Rasht-Chelavand gas pipeline expected to be completed soon, the volume of Iranian gas supplies to Azerbaijan will be 5.5 billion cubic meters annually, while plans are underway for signing a new gas import agreement with Turkmenistan for up to 10 billion cubic meters a year.

Thus, the first stage of the agreement will see Azerbaijani gas exports to Europe reach 11.5 billion cubic meters this year or half the 20 billion cubic meters volume of gas Europe requires through the Southern Gas Corridor to help partly compensate for the loss of Russian gas.

In short, Europe despite its hostile policy of following the US sanctions against Iran has no other choice but look to the Islamic Republic to resolve its energy problems.