Iran sits on the second-largest known natural gas reserves, yet it has been unable to fully utilize them, and even a potential nuclear deal with the United States that eases sanctions would be unlikely to change the situation in the near term.

The Islamic Republic’s estimated reserves stood at 32 trillion cubic meters (tcm), behind only Russia, with 38 tcm, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2020, the most recent year with reliable data available. Qatar followed with the third largest reserves, at 24.7 tcm. 

Winter shortages

Iran is the fourth-largest consumer of natural gas, at 241 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year, after China (378.7 bcm), Russia (474 bcm) and the United States (826 bcm), according to BP data. Despite Iran having a population of roughly 85 million, the country's yearly natural gas consumption is around only 130 bcm, less than that of China, whose population exceeds 1.4 billion. These numbers underscore Iran’s heavy reliance on natural gas, with per capita energy consumption estimated to be 2.5 times more than the global average. Gas accounts for around 70% of Iran’s energy mix, according to the National Iranian Gas Company, leaving the country vulnerable to supply and price fluctuations.