Tehran, Oct 7 (IANS): The transit and trade of oil and gas with Russia will make Iran a regional energy hub, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji said.

Owji made the remarks on the sidelines of the ongoing Caspian Economic Forum held in the Russian capital of Moscow, according to a state news media on Thursday.

He added that as two gas exporting countries, Iran and Russia have a lot of cooperation in the field of energy swaps, Xinhua news agency reported.

During his current visit to Russia, new understanding will be reached for the establishment of facilities and the joint exploitation of gas fields, the Iranian Minister said.

He mentioned the agreements with the Russian Gazprom company and announced a joint investment agreement for the production of LNG (liquefied natural gas) and related technologies for gas facilities in Iran.

Owji attached great importance to the cooperation between Iran and Russia in Iran's North and South Pars as well as Kish gas fields, saying both countries have signed cooperation agreements on the gas export to Pakistan and Oman and on the joint construction of an export pipeline to these two countries in the south of Iran, according to the state news media.

Referring to the swap of oil products such as gasoline in the Caspian Sea region and the exchange of non-oil items with oil, the Iranian Minister noted that Tehran and Moscow are able to swap 10 million ton of oil and non-oil products, for which facilities like vessels and ports have been established and equipped.

He called Iran's cooperation with the Caspian Sea littoral states in the energy sector strategic and expressed hope that within the next few weeks, a 15-billion cubic metre gas swap agreement through Turkmenistan will be completed.