Amine pumps used in the natural gas industry in the 9th South Pars Refinery have been indigenized by domestic engineers, director of the refinery said.
"The pumps, intricate in terms of design and manufacturing and known as the ‘heart of the refinery’, are specifically used in onshore gas sweetening trains," Mohammad Mehdi Hashemi was quoted as saying by IRNA.
There are at least six gas sweetening trains in the gas processing unit and each needs two amine pumps, he added.
“The devices are used to pump amine to the contactor tower in which acid gases such as H2S and/or CO2 are removed from the sour natural gas flowing from offshore facilities.”
The 9th South Pars Refinery is the largest processing facility of SP Gas Field in the city of Asalouyeh, Bushehr Province.
If the pumps were not indigenized, the company would have to spend $450 million to replace each old machine, Hashemi said. The 9th SP Refinery processes 11% of Iran’s gas and supplies 16% of the total South Pars output.
The refinery is one of the 14 in Asalouyeh processing natural gas drawn from the giant SP Gas Field shared between Iran and Qatar.
Hashemi stressed that the production process at the refinery complies with health, safety and environment requirements.
Production of refined sweet gas at the huge gas complex increased 155% in 2019 compared to 2013 and output is planned to rise further by the end of the current fiscal year in March 2021.
According to the Oil Ministry and the National Iranian Gas Company, South Pars daily gas production capacity was 280 mcm seven years ago and is to reach 750 mcm by the end of the year.
Development of the field has helped expand gas supply to rural areas. In 2013, an estimated 14,000 villages were connected to the national grid but now over 30,000 villages have access to piped gas. In the next six months 2,000 villages will be added to the network.
In related news, IRNA quoted Faraj Pourvand, managing director of Iran Industrial Pumps Group, as saying that Iran is now self-sufficient in manufacturing various types of pumps used in the key oil and gas industry, namely cryogenic pumps.
Cryogenic pumps, or cryopumps, are used for adding propane and butane gases to the refining processes.
"Our cryopumps can compete with European brands and are better than their peers made by Asian countries," Pourvand noted, adding that IIP engineers spent three years on designing and manufacturing the cryopumps.
It is noteworthy that the National Iranian South Oil Company has completed the design, casting and production of 'BB3' multistage centrifugal pumps, used in petroleum, petrochemical and gas industries.
Indigenous Knowhow
According to Gholamhossein Hamzavi, SPGC's vice president for renovation and overhaul, 80% of the equipment in SPGC is manufactured with indigenous knowhow.
"Domestic engineers maintain the turbines. The giant gas complex is heavily reliant on domestic expertise for procuring its measuring and electrical instruments."
Pointing to the fact that time for overhaul, the manufacturer's recommended number of running hours before components require another overhaul, has increased considerably, the official said concerted efforts have been made to minimize risk in the complex.
No accident has been recorded in the company in the last few years, which indicates the professional expertise of personnel who have always played a key role in preventing accidents.
"SPGC is fully overhauled with the help of domestic specialists," he said.
