The sides discussed the possibilities of swapping 50-60 million cubic meters of gas per day and constructing a gas swap corridor vai Azerbaijan, he added, according to Mehr news agency.

He said each day, 50-70 million cubic meters of gas is consumed in northern parts of Iran, adding that if the swap starts, the same volumes of gas will be available for export at southern terminals.

The official further stated that Iran plans to boost its gas export threefold when freed from sanctions.

The international economic sanctions on Iran are to be lifted according to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which was reached between Iran and the group P5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) in July.

It is predicted that by signing new contracts with Oman, Iraq, Pakistan, and Persian Gulf littoral countries, Iran will be able to export up to 100 mcm/d of gas, Araqi further stated.

He also said that Iran plans to produce 10 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year.

Iran is going to start producing LNG as the currently most economical way of exporting gas to Europe to regain its share on the European market that it lost due to sanctions.

Iran has signed a deal with a German company to build an LNG carrier. This will be the first LNG carrier that Iran is going to build for itself.

Iran has also reached preliminary agreements with a number of South Korean, Japanese, and Chinese companies for building LNG carriers.

The country is to produce liquid gas from associated petroleum gas (APG) at the Forouzan oil field, as called for in a contract to sell APG, which is expected to be signed soon.

Under the terms of the proposed agreement, a consortium of Iranian and foreign companies would produce LNG at sea using a process called floating liquefied natural gas, or FLNG.