Iran's Gas Shortage Crisis: Billions Burned as Winter Looms

Iran's energy crisis is far from over, as the country faces another severe natural gas shortage this winter. Despite holding the world's second-largest proven natural gas reserves, Iran continues to struggle with domestic demand and waste enormous quantities of valuable gas through flaring.

Experts say years of underinvestment, deteriorating infrastructure, and policy failures have left Iran vulnerable to recurring energy crises. The country is expected to face a daily natural gas deficit of approximately 100 million cubic meters during the coming winter, with officials warning that even a mild winter will not alleviate the shortage.

The Iranian Parliament Research Center estimated that in 2022, Iran flared around 50.5 million cubic meters of gas per day, resulting in an economic loss of approximately $33.8 billion over the past decade. If the gas burned in 2022 alone had been collected and exported, it could have generated an estimated $4.6 billion in revenue.

The World Bank's Global Gas Flaring Tracker ranked Iran as the second-largest gas flaring country in the world in 2025, behind only Russia. According to the report, Iran burned approximately 29.93 billion cubic meters of gas in 2025, while its neighboring producers have made significant investments in capturing associated gas instead of burning it.