Making headway on an idea that has been discussed for at least a decade, Russia and Pakistan have reached a preliminary agreement to build a multibillion dollar offshore pipeline for the transport of Iranian gas to Pakistan and possibly to India.

While the agreement has yet to codified in an official written document, observers believe this will soon happen.

One of the ironies of the agreement is that the gas for the project will come from Iran, not Russia, two countries with the lion's share of the earth natural gas resources. This follows a flurry of activity over the past year where Russia and Iran have agreed to strategic cooperation covering a broad range of projects in the energy sector.

In addition to constructing a pipeline from Iran to Pakistan, Russia is considering laying a parallel pipeline for gas export to India. The Indians have indicated that they would be interested in purchasing gas through an offshore pipeline from Iran via Gwadar in Balouchistan, believing this would be a safe way for energy import.

Russian gas exports touched an all-time high in 2017. According to its energy giant Gazprom, gas flows to Europe and Turkey, excluding former Soviet states, hit a new daily record at 621.8 million cubic metres.

Annual exports touched 179.3 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2016, a significant jump from the previous high of 161.5 bcm in 2013 and well above the 2015 total of 158.6 bcm.