The National Iranian Gas Company is implementing three major plans to reduce air and water pollution in the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone in Asalouyeh, Bushehr Province, the head of NIGC’s Department of Health, Safety and Environment said.
“The ongoing initiatives are mainly focused on cutting associated petroleum gas burned off in flares, curbing emissions of sulfur dioxide and expanding industrial wastewater treatment facilities in the southern city of Asalouyeh,” Gholamreza Bahmannia was also reported as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana.
Giving a breakdown, the official noted that operations are underway to collect 2 trillion cubic meters of APG from the 12 gas processing facilities in the South Pars region in the next five years. The scheme calls for curtailing emissions of sulfur dioxide by 490,000 tons in the same period.
“Two wastewater treatment plants are also being developed in the industrial area that will raise sewage processing capacity by 300,000 cubic meters per year,” he added.
According to Bahmannia, NIGC prevented the emission of about 180 million tons of greenhouse gases in 2020 and emissions in the country's gas industry will decline by 70% in the next three years.
The expansion of gas supply across the country and replacement of natural gas with other types of fossil fuel, including diesel and mazut, last year helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions that led to a drop in air pollution.
The same trend will continue to further reduce emissions. Natural gas is to be supplied to more urban and rural areas, and collection and processing of associated petroleum gas in southern Iran, especially from the giant South Pars Gas Field in the Persian Gulf, will increase.
"At present, because of the vast gas network, a large part of the country's energy demand is supplied through natural gas. As a result, gas consumption in Iran has grown by 600% in the past 26 years, rising from 36 billion cubic meters in 1995 to 261 bcm now,” the official said.
Global Warming
Greenhouse emissions from burning gas are much lower than those from coal or oil.
Natural gas emits 50-60% less carbon dioxide when burnt in an efficient gas power plant compared with emissions from a typical coal plant.
Considering only tailpipe emissions, natural gas also emits 15-20% less heat-trapping gases than gasoline when burned in CNG vehicles.
South Pars is the world's largest gas field, covering an area of 3,700 square kilometers of Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.
APG, or flare gas, is gas dissolved in oil. It is a mixture of hydrocarbons obtained from oil or gas extraction and separation processes. The gas can be utilized in a number of ways after processing: as feedstock for the petrochemical industry and for gas distribution networks.
The collection of APG from oil and gas fields helps safeguard the environment, curb the loss of national wealth and create jobs. It is an important safety measure at many oil and gas production sites, as it prevents industrial plant equipment overheating and exploding.
Iran has made verifiable progress in using flare gas for power generation and for feeding refineries.
“NIGC, as the largest energy supplier in the country, has taken effective measures in recent years to identify sources of greenhouse gas emissions, which are the cause of global warming and climate change, and to reduce emissions,” Bahmannia said.
However, despite the progress, 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.
