Gas refinery at the South Pars gas field in Asalouyeh, Iran. (AP Photo)
Around 5.7 tcf of the newly discovered gas is recoverable, Iranian oil minister Mohsen Paknejad told state television on Sunday. He said the recoverable reserves were equivalent to around 15 years of production from one phase of South Pars, the world’s largest gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar. Iran lost around a quarter of its daily gas production capacity after attacks on energy infrastructure began in late February, according to Bloomberg.
The discovery also includes gas condensates worth “tens of billions of dollars”, Paknejad said, adding that Iran plans to develop the resources “as soon as possible. The attacks included strikes on facilities at South Pars.
US President Donald Trump again shared an image on Truth Social depicting the strategically important waterway as “new US territory”, after sharing the same graphic on August 18. Trump had earlier said, “Pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States”. the Iranian government has warned of possible gas shortages this winter and urged citizens to reduce consumption Although some production capacity has since returned. Tensions between the US and Iran also intensified over the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy corridor.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei criticised the planned measures, saying, “Such secondary sanctions find no foundation in international law,” in a post on X on August 22. “We are telling all nearby countries not to join the US economic war, otherwise we will consider them as enemies,” he said. Rezaei also warned neighbouring countries against supporting the US measures. Despite the escalating rhetoric, Iranian officials have indicated that Tehran remains open to diplomacy. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for diplomatic engagement to resolve the standoff, while stressing that Iran must protect its national strength and dignity.