OREANDA-NEWS   Russia, thanks to the gas hub in Iran, can enter the gas markets of South Asia; Turkmenistan is likely to receive benefits from the project, Alexander Amiragyan, director of the Center for Economics of Fuel and Energy Industries of the CSR, said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reported in May last year that Moscow and Tehran were discussing the creation of a gas hub – an electronic trading platform – in southern Iran. According to him, it will be possible to use gas at the hub, which in the future will be jointly produced by Iranian and Russian companies. Iranian Oil Minister Javad Oudji in June announced Tehran's desire to create a gas hub on the shores of the Persian Gulf, in which Russia, Turkmenistan and Qatar could participate.

Tehran is interested in developing infrastructure and expanding opportunities to enter the global gas market, Amiragyan noted. The country ranks second after Russia in terms of gas reserves, he said.

"Russia may show interest in terms of possible access to South Asian gas markets through Iran," the expert said.

Turkmenistan, which ranks fourth in terms of gas reserves, may also be interested in the project. Potentially, the country can increase supplies due to the formation of a powerful gas infrastructure in Iran with an emphasis on exports, the agency interlocutor explained.

"But Qatar will probably have less interest in this initiative. The country holds a leading position in the global LNG market and successfully monetizes gas reserves," Amiragyan believes.