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Pezeshkian launches Tous gas field project, highlights flare gas collection
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian officially inaugurated via videoconference on Monday the launch of the Tous gas field development project aimed at strengthening the stability of the gas supply network in the country’s northeast.
The project is also to supply feedstock to the Shahid Hashemi-Nejad Gas Refinery in Sarakhs, Khorasan Razavi Province.
Located about 100 kilometers northeast of Mashhad and 50 kilometers from the Shahid Hashemi-Nejad refinery, the Tous gas field is considered one of eastern Iran’s key gas fields, with estimated gas-in-place reserves of about 58 billion cubic meters.
The field was discovered in 2003, and development operations began in 2023.
The project, as reported by the Iranian Oil Ministry's news service Shana, was implemented with an investment of 120 million euros, financed through domestic resources. In its first phase, the field has a daily production capacity of 3 million cubic meters of natural gas, with the potential to increase output to 5 million cubic meters per day.
Key objectives of the project include partially offsetting the feedstock shortfall at the Shahid Hashemi-Nejad refinery, improving the reliability of the gas distribution network in northeastern Iran — particularly during peak winter demand — and reducing dependence on gas import contracts with Turkmenistan.
The project is expected to play a significant role in enhancing energy security and ensuring stable gas supplies for Iran’s eastern provinces.
The development has also contributed to job creation, providing direct employment for about 1,200 workers during the construction and installation phase and 180 jobs during the operation phase.
The launch of the Tous gas field development project is considered a key step toward balanced growth in Iran’s gas industry, increased domestic production and greater resilience of the national gas network, particularly in the cold northeastern regions.
The president also ordered the launch of the first phase of the Dehloran pressure boosting station, valued at 125 million euros.
Speaking at the ceremony, Pezeshkian underlined that the revenues generated from collecting associated gas and reducing flaring should be spent on the development and prosperity of host regions.
Placing a premium on the need to safeguard the country’s foreign exchange resources, Pezeshkian said about 5 million cubic meters of gas are flared daily in Iran’s oil and gas fields, which amounts to the loss of roughly $17 million in national wealth each day.
“Not even an hour should be lost in protecting this wealth and that all available capacities must be mobilized to accelerate the collection of associated gas,” he said.
Referring to the figure, the president said such resources could bring about major changes in the country’s development and should not be allowed to go to waste.