Iran can play a strategic role in energy developments and must use this capacity to exploit its vast oil and gas resources. Gas trade is one of the ways to realize this huge wealth that the Ministry of Petroleum of the 13th administration has put on the agenda in the first stage by swap method and so far has succeeded in reviving the gas swap contract of Turkmenistan from Iran to Azerbaijan.

1- Javad Owji left for Turkmenistan 19 days after taking the helm of the Ministry of Petroleum. The imbalance between supply and demand and the cold winter forecast prompted the Minister of Petroleum to revive the bitter relations with Turkmenistan, which had arisen due to the gas cut by the country in the winter of 2016, and to unlock the relations between the two countries.

2. Negotiations with a Turkmen delegation did not end with this trip. On October 26, 2021, a Turkmen delegation headed by Foreign Minister Rashid Muradov came to the 15th floor of the Ministry of Petroleum to meet with the Minister of Petroleum. Emphasizing that the policy of the 13th administration is to expand the level of relations with neighbors, including Turkmenistan, Owji said: "The Ministry of Petroleum is determined to pay the gas debt to Turkmenistan."

3- The relations between Iran and Azerbaijan also progressed in parallel with the relations between Iran and Turkmenistan. On November 21, 2021, Javad Owji received Shahin Mustafaev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan. After the meeting, the Minister of Petroleum stated: "Azerbaijan has a good capacity in the oil and gas sector and a good agreement was reached with the Republic of Azerbaijan on gas swaps from neighboring countries to the Republic of Azerbaijan, such as Turkmenistan."

4- The meetings and negotiations between the Iranian and Turkmen delegations resulted in the Novemebr 28, 2021, and the two countries signed a gas swap agreement on the sidelines of the 15th summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in Ashgabat, according to which 1.5 to 2 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas per year is delivered to Azerbaijan via Iran. After signing the agreement, Petroleum Minister Javad Owji said: "By signing this agreement, a step forward was taken in the energy relations between the two countries, and this agreement will help provide sustainable winter fuel for the provinces of Khorasan Razavi, North and South, Golestan and Semnan."

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5- The contract of Turkmenistan gas swap from Iran to Azerbaijan was put into operation on January 1, 2022 to show that the signing of this contract was not only on paper. Some experts said after the signing of the agreement that although the volume of Turkmenistan gas swap contract from Iran to Azerbaijan is not high, its beginning should be auspicious, because by solving economic problems and increasing oil and gas production in the country, Iran can prove it not only supply its own oil and gas, but it can also be a safe route for transporting oil and gas to neighboring countries in various forms.

6. Iran, however, was ready to swap more gas from Turkmenistan. On January 8, Javad Owji again hosted a Turkmen delegation headed by Rashid Muradov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. “There is sufficient infrastructure for gas imports and swaps, and Iran is ready to transfer 40 million cubic meters of gas per day or 10 to 15 billion cubic meters per year.”

7- The implementation of the Turkmenistan-Iran-Azerbaijan gas swap agreement strengthened the relations between them and paved the way for cooperation in other sectors. In this regard, Shahin Mustafaev, Minister of Petroleum and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, met with Javad Owji on May 19, 2022, and the two sides stressed the need to "expand cooperation between Tehran and Baku in the energy sector."

8- The Minister of Petroleum, who left for this country to participate in the 27th Baku Energy Forum and the 27th Caspian International Oil and Gas Exhibition (Baku Energy Week) on 1 June 2022, signed a memorandum of understanding with Mikayil Jabbarov to increase the volume of Turkmen gas swaps to the current level. , Signed by the Minister of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

9. There is no doubt that the gas trade and Iran's presence in the gas market will not end with this agreement and memorandum, but what is clear is that Iran is on the right track to play its role as the fourth largest gas producer in the world.