Israel strikes world's largest gas field in Iran: All about South Pars; why it matters

Iran has partially suspended production at South Pars, the world's largest gas field, due to a fire at one of its key processing units caused by an Israeli drone strike on Saturday, the Iranian media reported.The fire broke out in one of the four units of Phase 14 of South Pars, and led to a halt in the production of 12 million cubic metres of gas.

The blaze has since been extinguished, according to the Iranian oil ministry.About South ParsAn offshore site, South Pars is located in the Islamic Republic's southern Bushehr province. The world's largest natural gas reserve, Iran shares it with Qatar, where it is called the "North Field."Why South Pars matters to Iran?The field is responsible for the "lion's share" (around 66 per cent) of gas production in Iran, the world's third-largest producer after the United States and Russia. The country generates around 275 billion cubic metres of gas annually, or about 6.5 per cent of the global output. Due to international sanctions, most of this gas is consumed domestically, though some of it is exported to countries like Iraq.On the other hand, Qatar, with help from global energy firms such as Shell and ExxonMobil, exports 77 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas every year from the same field to Europe and Asia.

Why attack on South Pars is significant?Until now, under its Operation Rising Lion, launched on Thursday, Israel's focus was on the Iranian nuclear and military assets. Indeed, this would be Israel's first strike on the oil and gas sector of Iran.

This would mark a major escalation in the conflict, as Iran could retaliate by targeting Israel's own oil and gas infrastructure."The strike on South Pars was reckless. The attack threatens global energy security," news agency Reuters quoted a US official as saying. The crisis had already pushed oil prices up 9 per cent on Friday, the second day of clashes.