The National Iranian South Oil Company has produced an average of 1.77 million barrels per day of crude oil during August 2021-22, which shows an increase of 16% compared with the same period of a year ago when the output was 1.53 mbpd, said the deputy director at the National Iranian South Oil Company.
“Last year, petrochemical complexes and downstream industries were supplied with products of NISOC, which played an important role in completing the value chain of chemical products and earning revenues for the country,” Mohammad Mansouri was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana.
“During this period, every day 22 million cubic meters of gas were sent to Maroun Petrochemical Complex, 22 mcm of gas were provided to Bidboland Gas Refining Company, 47,000 barrels of gas liquids were supplied to Bandar Imam Petrochemical Complex and 14,000 barrels of naphtha to Bu-Ali-Sina Petrochemical Company,” he added.
“The oil-rich areas of the south have also played a significant role in supplying the country with fuel in the winter and have injected 15.7 million cubic meters of gas per day directly and about 40 mcm of gas per day indirectly into the distribution network of the National Iranian Gas Company,” the official noted.
NISOC, the largest subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company, is responsible for the development of 28 oilfields in the southern and southwestern regions.
Oil Output Rising
Despite decades of sanctions and limited investment, Iran remains one of the 10 largest oil producers in the world, ranking eighth after the US, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Canada, Iraq, China and the UAE.
The country sits on the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves after Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Canada. It also accounts for 17% of global gas reserves and ranks second after Russia.
Iran is the third-largest gas producer after the US and Russia, accounting for 6.5% of the global gas production, though most of it is consumed locally.
The market is desperately looking for Iranian oil as it braces for a major supply shock caused by the Ukraine conflict, namely the loss of a huge amount of Russian oil exports.
In spite of the US sanctions, Iran has continued development projects in oil, gas and petrochemical industries.
The higher output has been planned in view of the country’s potential regarding oil reserves, as Iran holds about 1,200 billion barrels of oil equivalent underground, which include reserves of crude oil, natural gas and gas condensate.
Operations are underway to develop several oilfields to increase the crude output capacity in the country.
The fields include South Azadegan and Nargesi oilfields in Khuzestan Province, Naft-Shahr Oilfield in Kermanshah Province and Azar Oilfield in Ilam Province.
According to the latest reports, the country is preparing to raise its crude oil production capacity to over 4 million barrels per day by the end of the current Iranian year (March 2023) from the current 3.8 mbpd.
Collecting APG
One of the main measures that NISOC has been carrying out in the past year is the collection of associated petroleum gases from oilfields. It collects more than 19 mcm of APG per day in cooperation with private firms and in line with the plan to zero gas flaring in the southern and southwestern regions.
Collecting APG from oil and gas fields is a priority of the Oil Ministry to help safeguard the environment, prevent loss of national wealth and create jobs.
Flaring is the burning of natural gas that cannot be processed or sold. Collection of APG is an important safety measure at oil and gas production sites, as it prevents industrial plant equipment from over-pressuring and exploding.
APG is natural gas found with deposits of petroleum. Flaring pours methane, ethane and propane into the atmosphere and contributes to air pollution.
Iran has made progress in using flare gas either for power generation or as feed for refineries. Reports say the government has invested $5 billion in related projects.
The Oil Ministry has adopted several measures to reduce gas flaring, namely collecting APG for injection into oil and gas wells, converting it into petroleum products like natural gas liquids and for power production.
Since 2008, Iran has prevented the flaring of over 12 billion cubic meters of APG, a source of global warming and waste of valuable fuel.
Despite the measures, Iran has the highest rate of energy waste in the form of APG in the Middle East and ranks third in the world in terms of gas flaring after Russia and Iraq.
According to official reports, approximately 17 bcm of gas are still flared and wasted annually.
