Iran says it discovered over 7.5trn cubic feet of gas

Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad told state media on Sunday that Iran has located more than 7.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, equal to 212.4 billion cubic metres, in a deposit in southern Fars Province. Business Recorder reported that the find lies in a field whose recoverable volume he put at roughly 5,700 billion cubic feet, based on an estimated recovery ratio. He also described the gas as sweet, a quality he said would lower development and operating expenses.

Iran's pre-war output was estimated at about 650 million cubic metres (mcm) a day, or around 8.4 trillion cubic feet annually. Tehran is still mending energy facilities damaged in its clashes with Israel and the US, and it now faces planned American sanctions that could add pressure to its economy.

In July, a senior official said Iran expected to regain roughly 100 mcm of daily gas capacity in the coming months. That would follow strikes that reduced output by roughly 230 mcm each day after the war began in late February.