Farhad Shahroki, Vice Chairman of the Energy Commission of the Parliament, in an interview with Shana reporter, referred to the President's presence at the eighth summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Moscow, stating: "Iran's presence at this summit should be seen as an opportunity to strengthen energy diplomacy, develop gas trade, and utilize the capacity for cooperation with producing countries."
The necessity of converting gas reserves into sustainable production
Shahroki added: "One of the key focuses of this trip should be to convert Iran's vast gas reserves into sustainable production, trade, and economic value creation, as merely having underground reserves does not equate to having export power, and realizing this capacity requires investment, technology, field development, and strengthening production and transmission infrastructure."
Read more: Development of energy cooperation between Iran and Russia with gas trade agreement
Global gas market developments
The Vice Chairman of the Energy Commission of the Parliament stated that the global gas market has undergone serious changes in recent years, saying: "The changing energy trade routes, the development of LNG, increased competition among suppliers, and the necessity of ensuring energy security have made Iran's active presence in multilateral energy mechanisms even more important."
Shahroki continued: "Iran and Russia's cooperation can be pursued in areas such as the development of oil and gas fields, technology transfer, investment in facilities, gas trade and swap, and the development of energy transmission corridors, but it is essential to distinguish between political agreements, memorandums of understanding, and executable contracts."
Development of foreign cooperation and energy imbalance management
He emphasized: "Every gas agreement should be based on technical and economic studies, determining the volume and duration of commitments, the capacity of transmission lines, pricing mechanisms, contractual guarantees, and financing to achieve practical and measurable results."
The Vice Chairman of the Energy Commission of the Parliament deemed the connection between gas diplomacy and energy imbalance management within the country essential, adding: "The development of foreign cooperation should be pursued simultaneously with increasing deliverable production capacity, optimizing consumption, reducing network losses, collecting associated gases, and enhancing energy efficiency."
Shahroki stressed: "The measure of success for gas diplomacy is not the number of meetings or signed documents, but the extent to which negotiations are converted into executable contracts, effective investment, increased production capacity, sustainable trade, and creating measurable economic benefits for the country."
He stated: "Iran must transition from being a holder of vast natural gas reserves to a position commensurate with competitive production, regional trade, and the energy value chain, and this goal can only be achieved by linking energy diplomacy with internal structural reforms, optimizing consumption, and targeted investment."
Read more: EQT becomes the largest natural gas producer in the U.S. by acquiring Range Resources · Formation of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum initiated by Iran
