Security at the South Pars Special Economic Energy Zone in Asalouyeh
South Pars looks to the long term
With the 38 phases associated with Iran’s South Pars gas field nearing completion, focus has shifted to maintaining production stability amid pressure concerns
Total cumulative output from Iran’s supergiant South Pars gas field—the second and third phases of which came into production in 2002—is now around the 2tn m³ mark and has increased rapidly in recent years. Earlier this year, President Hassan Rouhani said production from the 23 upstream projects already in operation had reached 750mn m³/d, up from 280mn m³/d in 2013. With state oil firm NIOC aiming to reach 1bn m³/d as quickly as possible, a drilling campaign is ongoing at the offshore Phase 11 (SP11). Total and China’s CNPC signed a contract for SP11 in 2017, before pulling out after the US withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal a year later. 9tn m³ – Remaining South Pars recover
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
