Iran discovers gas reserves amid war

Iran announced on Sunday the discovery of more than 200 billion cubic metres of natural gas in the southern Iran — Fars province, with over 160 billion cubic metres potentially recoverable. Petroleum Minister Mohsen Paknejad described the find as sweet natural gas with low hydrogen sulphide content, which would lower development costs. However, according to Bloomberg, any new production from the site would likely be years away. The discovery comes amid the Middle East war that began in late February with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure, including gas production facilities, oil depots, and transport routes. Iran's energy sector has been significantly disrupted, with production cuts of about 230 million cubic metres per day since the war started. The country faces planned US sanctions, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatening 'the toughest sanctions in history' on Iran.