Iran has announced on Sunday it has discovered over 7.5 trillion cubic feet (212.4 billion cubic meters) of gas in a field in the south of its Fars Province, according to Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad, quoted by state media.
Given an estimated recovery ratio, Paknejad said it was possible to extract about 5,700 billion cubic feet of gas from that field.
Iran has estimated its prewar production at around 650 million cubic meters (mcm) per day, which translates into around 8.4 trillion cubic feet per year.
Tehran, which has been carrying out repairs to its energy infrastructure damaged during the war with Israel and the U.S., now faces planned U.S. sanctions that could put further strain on its economy.
In July, a senior government official said Iran expected to restore about 100 mcm per day of natural gas production capacity "within the coming months," after strikes cut output by about 230 mcm per day since the war started in late February.
Paknejad said the discovered gas was "sweet," which meant it would reduce both development and operating costs.
