Gazprom-Iran gas deal: 2 bcm confirmed, 55 bcm possible, and deliveries yet to start
In focus: a gas-supply agreement between Gazprom and Iran's National Iranian Gas Company, born from a $40 billion memorandum of understanding with the National Iranian Oil Company in July 2022 and formalized in June 2024. Russia's energy minister has confirmed an opening delivery rate of approximately 2 billion cubic meters per year, against Tehran's stated import target of up to 20 bcm annually and a stated expansion ceiling of 55 bcm. As of mid-2026, no gas has moved.
Key takeaways
- Russia's energy minister confirmed an opening delivery rate of approximately 2 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year under the Gazprom-Iran gas deal, with potential to expand to 55 bcm.
- The agreement traces to a $40 billion memorandum of understanding signed in July 2022 and was formalized in June 2024, when the National Iranian Gas Company replaced the National Iranian Oil Company as Iran's counterparty.
- As of mid-2026, no gas has flowed and no public start date has been announced, more than two years after the formal agreement.
- Any overland route from Russia to Iran passes through or alongside Azerbaijani territory, placing transit decisions in Baku's hands.
- Azerbaijan has made no public statement on the deal, reportedly out of concern about being seen as a transit corridor for sanctioned Russian gas.
In focus: a gas-supply agreement between Gazprom and Iran's National Iranian Gas Company, born from a $40 billion memorandum of understanding with the National Iranian Oil Company in July 2022 and formalized in June 2024. Russia's energy minister has confirmed an opening delivery rate of approximately 2 billion cubic meters per year, against Tehran's stated import target of up to 20 bcm annually and a stated expansion ceiling of 55 bcm. As of mid-2026, no gas has moved.
The contract's path from MOU to formal agreement
The July 2022 memorandum paired Gazprom with the National Iranian Oil Company at a stated value of $40 billion. It took nearly two years to reach a formal agreement. When that agreement arrived in June 2024, the Iranian counterparty had changed: the National Iranian Gas Company replaced the oil company on Tehran's side of the table, narrowing the deal to gas supply specifically.
Russia's energy minister has since confirmed an initial volume of approximately 2 bcm per year, with the potential to expand to 55 bcm. Tehran's stated import target is up to 20 bcm annually, a gap that implies a substantial ramp-up beyond the opening tranche Moscow has described.
No deliveries, no timeline
Gas has not flowed as of mid-2026, more than two years after the formal agreement and nearly four years after the original memorandum. No public start date has been announced. Geography frames the constraint: any overland route from Russia to Iran passes through or alongside Azerbaijani territory, placing transit decisions in Baku's hands.
Azerbaijan's public silence
Baku has made no public statement on the Gazprom-NIGC arrangement. The reported reason is concern about being perceived as a transit corridor for sanctioned Russian gas. That framing matters because it locates Azerbaijan's hesitation in reputational and compliance risk rather than technical capacity. Russian energy exports carry Western sanctions, and a transit country that handles those volumes accepts the exposure that comes with them. Baku has chosen, so far, to stay off the record entirely.
What to watch
The deal's next observable milestone is a transit agreement that names a route and a volume schedule. Russia's energy minister has described a 55 bcm expansion potential. Without a confirmed corridor, that ceiling has no floor beneath it.
Related reading
Filed by the newsroom of MarketPR on August 5, 2026. Source: MarketPR newsroom. Indicative figures are not investment advice.