The National Iranian South Oil Company collects 3.5 million cubic meters of associate petroleum gas per day from Gachsaran and Nargesi oilfields in line with the plan to zero gas flaring in southern and southwestern regions, managing director of the company said.
“Close to 9 mcm of APG are still flared in the oilfields operated by NISOC, which is responsible for the development of 28 oilfields in the southern and southwestern oil-rich regions,” Alireza Daneshi was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana.
Giving a breakdown, he noted that of the total APG collection (3.5 mcm) from the two oilfields, close to 3 mcm are collected from Gachsaran Oilfield in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province and the rest from Nargesi Oilfield in Dezful, Khuzestan Province.
“NISOC signed 28 contracts worth about $1.5 billion in 2021 with Iranian companies to collect associated petroleum gas in Khuzestan’s oilfields,” he said.
“APG collection projects have been designed with the aim of preventing gas flaring, preserving the environment, creating added value from gas collected from the fields in the east of Karoun River and providing sustainable feed to petrochemical companies.”
Daneshi noted that the ongoing initiatives are in different stages of construction and will become operational over the next two years.
Some of the firms with which the agreements were concluded are the Persian Gulf Bidboland Gas Refinery, Oil Turbo Compressor Group, MAPNA Turbine Engineering and Manufacturing Company, and Energy Industries Engineering and Design Company.
There are still oilfields where APG is flared, but negotiations are underway with more local firms to collect it.
Unfortunately, about 40 mcm per day are being flared in Iran from the oilfields of Khuzestan Province.
Crucial Investment
According to Oil Minister Javad Owji, investment in the petroleum industry is very crucial for Iran.
“We hope that in less than four years, all the flare gas in east and west Karoun regions that include several large oilfields straddling the Iran-Iraq border would be collected,” he said.
APG, or flare gas, is gas dissolved in oil. It is a mixture of hydrocarbons obtained from oil 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.
Owji said about 15 mcm of APG will be collected in the next two years, processed at the Bidboland Refinery and used as feedstock in petrochemical complexes.
APG collection is an important safety measure at many oil and gas production sites, as it prevents industrial plant equipment from over-pressuring and exploding.
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 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 in Iran.
