Joint Projects of Russia & Iran in Energy, Transport

The largest Russian project in Iran is the nuclear power plant in Bushehr. This is a unique building which has no analogues elsewhere in the world.

The construction of the station was started in 1974 by the German Kraftwerk Union AG (Siemens / KWU) but in 1980, the government of West Germany joined the US sanctions imposed on Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution and construction was discontinued.

Russia became the only country to agree to help Iran to complete the Bushehr nuclear power plant. In August 1992, an agreement was signed between the governments of Russia and Iran on the construction of the plant, and in January 1995 a contract was signed to complete the construction of the first power unit of the station. Russian “Atomstroyexport” and its contractors managed to integrate Russian equipment into the construction under the German project and, in addition, to use about 12,000 tons of German equipment. The first block of the Bushehr nuclear power plant was connected to Iran's national energy system in September 2011.

In April 2016, the block was finally transferred to Iran in operation and signalled the official completion of the project. Rosatom services the unit and provides it with nuclear fuel.

In November 2014, Russia and Iran signed a contract for the construction of the second and third units of the Bushehr plant (Bushehr-2). The launching ceremony took place on September 10, 2016.

The total capacity of the two new units is 2.1 thousand MW. The construction of the second block is planned to be completed in 2024, the third block - in 2026.

In March, construction and installation work began on the site of the future Bushehr-2 nuclear power plant.

In accordance with the intergovernmental agreement on the North-South international transport corridor (2000), Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan are implementing a project of direct overland communication along the western coast of the Caspian Sea with the construction of a new line of the Kazvin-Astara (Iranian) - Astara (Azerbaijan) railroad. An agreement was signed between the three countries on the creation of a consortium for the construction. The estimated carrying capacity of the railway will be up to 10 million tons at the first stage and will be further increased to 15 million tons per year.

In October 2012, Russian Railways completed the first project, the Tabriz-Azarshahr line, about 46 kilometers long in Iran, and electrified five stations.

In November 2015, Russian Railways International and Iranian Railways signed a contract to supply equipment and construction materials for the electrification project of the Garmsar-Ince Burun railway section. The length of this railway section is 495 kilometers. The city of Garmsar is in the center of Iran, 80 kilometers east of Tehran, Ince Burun - on the border with Turkmenistan.

The contract value is estimated at EUR 1.2 billion. The project will be financed from the state export credit of the Government of the Russian Federation to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Russian Railways is preparing to open a representative office in Iran.

The head of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, Alexander Novak, estimated the total value of the possible contracts of Russian Railways for the implementation of projects for the electrification of railways in Iran at $5-6 billion.

In December 2015, a deal was approved by the Iranian transport company Nasim Bahr Kish for a controlling stake in PJSC Astrakhan Port. "Astrakhan Port" is the most important transit point on the route "North - South".

In November 2015, an agreement was signed to build a thermal power plant with a total capacity of 1.4 thousand megawatts in the city of Bandar Abbas. The contract for this project is being worked out by the company Tekhnopromexport.

In December 2016, Russia and Iran signed a memorandum on joint work in the field of oil and energy. The document consists of 23 items, including provisions on exploration, production, development of deposits, and swap operations.

In the memorandum are agreements on cooperation in the delivery of gas and conducting research. Iran and Russia will also work together in the field of technology in the production of equipment needed for the oil industry.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Gazprom and the Iranian NIGC has also been signed, which envisages cooperation in the field of exploration, production, production of LNG, supply of gas pipe, including to India, as well as the implementation of swap operations. The agreement is a framework, with specific projects to be discussed by companies at the corporate level. In particular, Gazprom is negotiating to participate in the development of Iran's Farzad gas field (located on the Farsi block about 100 km into the Persian Gulf, the estimated production is 10.3 billion cubic meters of gas per year).

In turn, Gazprom Neft signed a MoU with NIOC on the fields of Cesmeh Khosh and Changule. The parties agreed to study, evaluate and prepare technical proposals, in the future, a contract for development and production may be signed in case of agreement between the parties.

Currently, LUKOIL and Tehran are discussing a return to the Anaran project. The company sent its proposals for the study of the largest deposits at the Anaran block in late 2015.

Russia and Iran adopted a five-year road map for industrial development, which involves the implementation of more than 70 projects. The main directions fixed in the road map are engineering and car building. In 2016, the products of the United Carriage-Building Corporation and Uralvagonzavod began to be shipped to Iran.

At present, the countries are discussing the delivery and subsequent organization of joint production of helicopters in Iran, as well as the promotion of Russian automakers - AvtoVAZ, KAMAZ, GAZ Group, Sollers - to its market. The issue of creating a joint venture in Iran with localization of production of trucks and cars is under consideration.

Tehran also expressed its readiness to establish a joint venture with Russia to manufacture helicopters. Holding "Helicopters of Russia" is negotiating the supply of multi-purpose helicopters Ansat and Ka-226T to Iran.

Iran is interested in purchasing 12 Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft. Russia suggested that Iranian partners also establish a joint production of the modernized turboprop Il-114.

Inter RAO and Silovye Mashiny expressed interest in modernizing Iran's hydropower plants and thermal power plants, in particular, the Ramin TPP, which was built by Soviet specialists in the 1980s.

Dimitri Dolaberidze