Transferring natural gas to power plants, industries and households on Kish Island in the Persian Gulf off the southern coast of Iran will help save 7,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas and 500 million liters of diesel annually.
Mohsen Khojastehmehr, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company, made the statement on the sidelines of a ceremony to inaugurate a gas pipeline project that carries natural gas from Asalouyeh in Bushehr Province to the tourist island in Hormozgan Province, ISNA reported.
“The scheme, carried out by Pars Oil and Gas Company, a subsidiary of NIOC, is expected to raise the state-run’s firm’s annual revenues by $400 million as the company can increase its LPG and diesel export capacity,” he said.
Each liter of diesel is sold at 65 cents in international markets, while each cubic meter of natural gas costs 25 cents.
Implemented at an estimated cost of $350 million in four years, the plan entailed laying a 130-km 32-inch subsea pipeline that branched off from Iran Gas Trunkline-7 (IGAT-7).
With a diameter of 56 inches (1,420 mm), IGAT-7 interconnects Asalouyeh in Bushehr Province to Sarkhoun Refinery in Hormozgan Province and transfers natural gas produced in South Pars Gas Field to Hormozgan, Kerman and Sistan-Baluchestan provinces.
IGAT is a series of large diameter pipelines transferring gas from refineries from the south to different parts of the country.
The venture was undertaken with the help of domestic engineers in local firms, including Maroun Karan, Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company and Sarkhoun Arshak Mechanic.
“Close to 80% of equipment used in the plan were manufactured by local firms and startups,” he said.
Reducing Consumption
The pipeline transfers close to 28 mcm of gas per day to the island, reducing the consumption of liquid fuels in power plants by 500 million liters.
Kish is a 91.5-square kilometer picturesque resort in Bandar Lengeh County, Hormozgan Province. Given its free trade zone status, the island is seen as a consumer's paradise, with numerous malls, shopping centers and tourist attractions.
Kish Island is the third most-visited vacation destination in Southwest Asia, after Dubai in the UAE and Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.
Tourists from many countries entering Kish Free Zone are not required to have a visa.
Kish Island's electricity network is yet not connected to the national power grid. There are two power plants on the island, with total generation capacity of 230 megawatts that meet the needs of 40,000 homes and one million tourists annually.
A part of the feedstock for the plants comprises associated petroleum gases from Sirri Oilfield in the Persian Gulf.
According to Shahsavar Arghash, the head of operations at the Iranian Offshore Oil Company on Kish Island, supplying APG from oilfields in Sirri Island to thermal power plants in Kish over the decade has significantly cut the use of high levels of diesel.
Power Generation
With the aim of boosting power generation, approximately 2.3 billion cubic meters of APG have been harnessed from Sirri Oilfield in the Persian Gulf for power plants in the hot southern regions.
“If power stations did not have access to flare gas, they would use 15 million barrels of diesel in the past decade costing $1 billion.”
Close to 177 million cubic meters of gas were used (annually) in flares in the Sirri Oilfield before IOOC started supplying gas to power plants in the picturesque tourist resort that is also home to a free economic zone.
Flaring is the burning of natural gas that cannot be processed or sold. It is an important safety measure at most oil and gas production sites, as it prevents industrial plant equipment from over-pressuring and exploding.
Sirri Island in the Persian Gulf has several oilfields, namely Alvand, Nosrat, Sivand, Dena and Esfand.
The Island is 76 km from Bandar Lengeh and 50 km west of the strategic Abu Musa Island.
Iran has major natural gas fields in the south.
Experts believe that the swap deal with Turkmenistan could encourage other countries in the region to sign similar deals and use Iran’s gas supply capacities.
Having the largest high-pressure gas pipeline network after Russia, Iran can play a key role in transferring gas from east to west.
Considering the large-scale access to equipment and pipelines in the country, the Oil Ministry has made it clear that the government is keen on resuming swap operations with northern neighbors.
According to the ministry’s website, Iran is willing to start swapping oil and gas from Caspian Sea littoral states, provided Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan take reciprocal measures and cooperate with Iran in this regard.
