Aside from the enormous geopolitical value for Russia in adding the Chalous gas streams to the current gas supplies over which it has control, especially into the EU, Moscow is looking at an enormous financial payoff from its involvement in this field. Russia has calculated that, using an annual mean average figure of US$800 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas (it has been much higher than this, of course, in recent weeks), the value of exports from Chalous at a comfortable rate of recovery from the site is at least US$450 billion over the 20-year duration of the deal, which coincides with the next 20-year Iran-Russia deal. After the 20-year deal is up, the agreement currently is that the IRGC corporate vehicle Khatam al-Anbiya will take over ownership of Chalous for the next 50 years. Given the likely length of gas recovery at Chalous – and the fact that Russia intends to take less than 10 percent of it out over the course of its 20-year deal - sources close to the deal estimate the total value of the Chalous gas site at US$5.4 trillion.
Aside from the enormous geopolitical value for Russia in adding the Chalous gas streams to the current gas supplies over which it has control, especially into the EU, Moscow is looking at an enormous financial payoff from its involvement in this field. Russia has calculated that, using an annual mean average figure of US$800 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas (it has been much higher than this, of course, in recent weeks), the value of exports from Chalous at a comfortable rate of recovery from the site is at least US$450 billion over the 20-year duration of the deal, which coincides with the next 20-year Iran-Russia deal. After the 20-year deal is up, the agreement currently is that the IRGC corporate vehicle Khatam al-Anbiya will take over ownership of Chalous for the next 50 years. Given the likely length of gas recovery at Chalous – and the fact that Russia intends to take less than 10 percent of it out over the course of its 20-year deal - sources close to the deal estimate the total value of the Chalous gas site at US$5.4 trillion.