Gas production at Shahid Hasheminejad Gas Processing Company in Khorasan Razavi Province has increased by 500,000 cubic meters per day this winter, the head of the refinery said.
“Our winter plan was to supply 55 million cubic meters per day to the eastern regions of the country but the figure reached 55.5 mcum,” the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana also quoted Yahya Feyzi as saying.
“The gas refinery receives gas from Khangiran Gas Field and supplies natural gas to the provinces of North Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, South Khorasan, Golestan, Mazandaran and some parts of Semnan,” he added.
Speaking about Shourijeh gas storage facility, which receives gas from the refinery, Feyzi said, “Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company plans to start the construction of the second phase of the Shourijeh facility. Upon its launch, the amount of natural gas reserves in Shourijeh will increase from 10 million cubic meters per day to 20 mcum a day.”
The official added that total withdrawal from Shourijeh is now about 20 mcum per day, and with the completion of the phase, it will reach 40 mcum per day.
Located 5 km from the refinery, Shourijeh is part of the storage facility of Shahid Hasheminejad Gas Processing Company in the northeastern region of the country.
Feyzi said its development will make it the largest storage facility in Iran and help supply the region with sustainable gas supply.
As a routine procedure, gas is injected into reservoirs in the fiscal year’s first eight months (March 21, 2021-Nov. 21) and used in the last four months of each year.
Raising Storage Capacity
MAPNA Group has been tasked with the development of Shourijeh gas storage facility by the Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company.
Due to the need to supply gas in the north and northeast in the cold seasons when consumption rises to a great extent and the sharp decline in production expected in Mozdouran reservoir by 2025, the development project has been planned to increase the capacity of Shourijeh storage facility.
The engineering group is expected to complete the project within three years. The project includes drilling 28 wells, construct wellhead facilities and pipelines, build a gas collection and distribution center, set up gas injection facilities with a capacity of 20 million cubic meters per day and establish refinery facilities for gas processing with a capacity of 10 mcum per day.
Currently, Shourijeh and Sarajeh reservoirs in the northeast and central regions are the only natural gas storage facilities.
As a leading gas producer, Iran is expanding its underground gas storage capacity with plans to increase the capacity of Sarajeh and Shourijeh.
Plans are also underway to add five storage facilities to secure stable gas supply, especially in the cold season.
Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company is conducting technical research in five new areas.
Most oil reservoirs are not suitable for storing gas and this explains why research on other reserves, whose geological formations are made up of salt and water, is on the IGEDC agenda. Building new gas reservoirs is a priority of the Oil Ministry.
Domestic Equipment
Shahid Hasheminejad Gas Processing Company has turned to domestic production to reduce costs and cut dependence on foreign manufacturers. More than 95% of the refinery's mechanical equipment are made inside the country and it buys all its industrial valves from domestic manufacturers.
Additionally, SGPC is one of the leading manufacturers of equipment for gas refineries. Engineers at the refinery have produced several parts via reverse engineering process, and they can also design equipment.
SGPC supplies equipment to South Pars Gas Complex in Bushehr Province, Ilam Gas Treating Company and Parsian Gas Refinery in Fars Province.
The Iranian gas refineries have seen their processing capacity grow over time. They can now treat more than 1 bcm/d of gas totally.
Iran is to increase its gas output capacity to meet the increasing demand of all sectors. In case all the requirements of the plans are provided, in the next 10 years, daily gas output will reach 1.5 bcm.
In terms of gas reserves, Iran is second in the world after Russia, having about 34 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves.
