Iran announced on August 23 the discovery of a new natural gas field in southern Fars province containing over 7.5 trillion cubic feet (about 212 billion cubic meters) of gas reserves, with approximately 5.7 trillion cubic feet recoverable, Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said on state TV [1, 2, 3].
The minister described the gas as "sweet gas" due to its very low hydrogen sulfide content, which lowers development and operating costs [1, 4]. He added the discovery includes associated condensates valued at tens of billions of dollars [2]. Paknejad noted the gas volume corresponds to about 15 years of output from one phase of the South Pars field, Iran’s largest gas production area [2].
This announcement comes amid severe damage to Iran’s energy infrastructure caused by US-Israel airstrikes since late February, which have reduced daily natural gas production by approximately 230 million cubic meters from a pre-war level of 650 million cubic meters [1].
Despite the sizeable reserves, Iranian officials said it will take several years before production from the new field can start [2, 5, 6, 4]. The government has indicated plans to begin development as soon as possible [2].
The new field is expected to partly offset the production losses caused by the ongoing conflict affecting the region’s energy assets [1, 3]. The discovery strengthens Iran’s long-term natural gas outlook with substantial recoverable volumes in a field characterized by favorable development economics due to the gas quality [1, 5].
Iranian authorities continue to assess the full potential of the field while pursuing development plans amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
