After the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, European countries imposed new sanctions against Moscow in the shortest possible time, most of them in the field of energy.
This hit the European economy hard and forced Russia to enter new markets.
Crude oil trade is based on maritime exports, and it is possible to easily change customers and export destinations, and by applying various discounts, Russia has found new export markets in East Asia instead of Europe.
Countries like China and India have made the most of this ideal opportunity and Russia's favorable handover, and Russia is becoming the largest oil exporter to these countries.
Due to gas transportation problems, most of its exports are through pipelines, and for this reason it is much more difficult to find new customers for gas than for oil.
Therefore, a new policy for the development of gas exports from Russia should be formed, and this policy is the exchange or sale of gas by Moscow to its neighbors.
A policy that creates the best opportunity for the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Iran, with its unique geographical location and access to huge gas resources, will be Russia's first and most important gas partner in this new policy.
Afshin Gholamalipour, an energy expert, expressed his views in an interview with oil reporter from Barna News Agency.
Gholam Alipour pointed out that Russia's gas exchange via Iran is a positive action and has countless benefits for us, and said: If we can expand our export infrastructure, we can take more advantage of this opportunity.
For example, the activation of the southern gas pipeline to Oman could go a long way to increasing our profits from the Russian gas exchange.
The launch of this gas pipeline makes us look less like a competitor to Russia, and in this sense, Moscow's willingness to use our country's capacities increases.
He continued: Currently, since the gas pipeline that crosses Russia, Turkmenistan and Pakistan and finally reaches India is not completed, we can reach Pakistan by completing our gas pipeline, to have the possibility of exchanging gas to Turkmenistan.
On the other hand, it is possible to increase the volume of our exports to Turkey and Iraq.
These measures will help us better and more profit from the opportunity in the field of Russian gas exchange. This action can be very effective in making our country a gas and energy hub in the region.
He added: Considering the special and favorable conditions of Iran in terms of geopolitics, we can easily become the energy center of the region using Russian gas.
It should be noted that we have a high gas consumption and we have no surplus for export in this sector. Therefore, the Russian gas exchange can be a good opportunity for us in the field of gas export.
On the other hand, if we move towards LNG and its production, we will have a lot to say about the world markets for the supply of natural gas.
This energy expert noted: If we can seriously advance the Russian gas exchange and establish stable supply contracts like the one we have with Turkey, we can develop our infrastructure and create jobs.
On the other hand, due to the development of energy industries, we may need gas imported from Russia in the future and use it internally.
He said: "Increased energy exchanges with the countries of the region, including the exchange of Russian gas, can contribute to the intertwining of our political and economic relations with the countries of the region and lead to the strengthening of Iran's political position.
We have seen an example of this in the case of Iraq. Given its oil needs, this country was able to obtain an exemption from sanctions.
It can also happen to other countries.
For Afghanistan and Pakistan to become politically and economically dependent on us.
Gholam Alipour said: The completion of our southern pipeline to Oman can help increase our country's available market and give us access to Persian Gulf countries.
On the other hand, as Oman has the LNG technology and terminal, we can connect to the whole global gas market.
This energy expert continued: The Ministry of Petroleum has generally taken a positive and good approach to energy diplomacy.
We do not know the text of the contracts, we hope that good contracts will be signed and that they will be legally effective so that it can bring us good results.