The Eram field contained 19 trillion cubic feet (538 billion cubic metres) of natural gas, the National Iranian Oil Company said, cited by official news agency IRNA.

The oil ministry’s Shana website said the field was located in Fars province, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Shiraz.

“Given the volume of 19 trillion cubic feet reserves of in-situ gas and 385 million barrels of gas condensate in Eram field, the revenue from this field will be US$40 billion,” IRNA quoted an NIOC official as saying.

The amount of gas in the newly discovered field was enough to supply Tehran – a city with an estimated population of around eight million – for 16 years, the official said.

Iran is a member of OPEC which says the country has proven natural gas reserves of 1,197 trillion cubic feet (33.9 trillion cubic metres), the second highest in the world.