Reports that Orca is the largest gas find this year have a competing claim from Iran, where in mid-October the National Iranian Oil Company announced that it had discovered a natural gas field with 19 Tcf of gas in-place. The field, known as Eram, is onshore south of the Fars province in the southern part of the country, about 200 km south of Shiraz, 60 km to the north of Assaluyeh and 25 km to the east of Khonj County.
The field is reported to cover an area 50 km long with an average width of 5 km and is reservoired at a depth of 3,900m, although there is no further information about the reservoir. Development will probably commence in two or three years and it is estimated that Eram contains enough gas to supply the capital, Tehran, for 16 years. Due to international sanctions Iran cannot easily export hydrocarbons, but there is strong demand within the country.
