Tehran, Nov 10 (IANS): Iranian Petroleum Minister Javad Owji said in Tehran that his Ministry has signed with Russian energy giant Gazprom cooperation agreements worth nearly $40 billion.

The Iranian side would follow up on the progress of the agreements, which include the construction of LNG complexes in Iran as well as the development of Iran's gas fields and gas export transmission lines, a state media outlet quoted Owji as saying on Wednesday.

Iran has started the swap of oil and petroleum products with Russia and is discussing the possibility of a gas swap with Russia, Owji said, adding he hoped such a deal could be made possible this winter, Xinhua news agency reported.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy, Mehdi Safari said in October that Iran's plan was to import Russia's gas while exporting Iranian gas to foreign markets, noting such a move would benefit his country by reducing the costs of transferring Iranian gas from the country's southern regions to the north.