Iran says to export 40 homegrown gas turbines to Russia

Picture taken on Oct. 8, 2012 shows Nord Stream pipeline equipments before the opening ceremony of the North Stream second gas link in Portovaya bay, some 60 km from the town of Vyborg in northwestern Russia. (Xinhua File photo)

TEHRAN, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Iran has signed a contract with Russia to export 40 homegrown gas turbines to the country, Shana News Agency affiliated to the Iranian oil ministry reported Sunday.

Iran is now capable of meeting 85 percent of its domestic needs for gas equipment and facilities, and its gas production has doubled despite the severe U.S. sanctions, Shana quoted Reza Noshadi, head of Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company, as saying.

Iran and Russia have in recent years expanded their cooperation in different areas.

In July, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding, according to which Russia is expected to invest about 40 billion U.S. dollars in Iran's petroleum industry, Shana reported.

In late July, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Ali Salehabadi announced that the Tehran Stock Exchange had launched the rial-ruble trading, official news agency IRNA reported.

About a month later, he said Tehran and Moscow will expand the use of national currencies in transactions to other areas of bilateral trade, semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

In late August, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia and Iran are finalizing a comprehensive document on their cooperation.

"We are satisfied with the way our bilateral relations are developing. They are reaching a new qualitative level, which will be fixed in a large agreement between the two countries," Lavrov said at a joint briefing following his meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Moscow.