Oil, gas and Iran economic analyst
Israel has targeted Iran’s energy infrastructure in a major escalation that could unleash deep suffering for millions facing fuel and gas shortages.
According to Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum, Israeli missiles hit a gas sweetening unit at Phase 14 of the South Pars gas field and the vast Fajr Jam gas processing complex—both in southern Iran—as well as three major fuel storage depots in Tehran.
South Pars accounts for roughly 75% of Iran’s total natural gas output. The damaged facilities alone supply around 10% of the country’s gas consumption.
The full extent of the damage remains unclear, but Iranian media report serious harm to Fajr Jam’s gas intake and processing infrastructure. The plant, with a capacity of 50 million cubic meters per day, may have been forced offline.
The Petroleum Ministry also confirmed that 60% of Phase 14’s 20 million cubic meters-per-day output has been halted.
Israel had previously warned it would target Iran’s energy sector if Iranian forces struck Israeli civilians.
Tehran fuel depot also hit
Saturday’s strikes extended to Tehran, where Israeli forces reportedly hit the Shahran, Kan and Rey fuel depots—facilities that supply nearly all the capital’s gasoline and diesel.
Tehran’s total storage capacity is estimated at one billion liters, a quarter of Iran’s national fuel reserves.
A confidential Ministry of Petroleum document obtained by Iran International indicated that, as of late March, the country held 1.56 billion liters of gasoline and 1.28 billion liters of diesel in storage—barely enough for ten days of nationwide use.
Tehran alone consumes over 20 million liters of gasoline and 7.5 million liters of diesel per day.
With those storage hubs damaged, the capital now faces a looming fuel crisis, with more Israeli strikes likely on Iran’s energy infrastructure, as Iranian missiles hit targets in Israel.
So far, at least 14 Israeli civilians have been killed in Iranian attacks, while Iran’s health ministry has reported more than 200 killed.
Closing the Strait of Hormuz?
As strikes hit southern gas infrastructure, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that “spreading the war to the Persian Gulf could drag the entire world into conflict.” He gave no specifics, but lawmaker Esmail Kowsari said Tehran is considering closing the Strait of Hormuz.
Data provided to Iran International by commodity tracker Kpler shows Iran exported 2.2 million barrels of crude oil per day in the first 10 days of this month, and 1.8 million barrels daily on average last month—all through terminals in the Persian Gulf that rely on the strait.
Iran’s only alternative is the Jask terminal, inaugurated on the Sea of Oman in 2020. It was briefly used last October—amid fears of an Israeli strike—but averaged under 200,000 barrels per day and is currently inactive, according to TankerTrackers data.
Because Jask is over 1,000 kilometers from Iran’s main oil fields and has limited capacity, closing the strait would effectively halt Iran’s own oil exports.
The economic fallout wouldn’t stop there: according to Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization, 80% of Iran’s non-oil trade also passes through the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
The partially developed Chabahar port—built with Indian assistance—handles less than 4% of the country’s total cargo throughput.
