In line with efforts to protect the environment against the devastating effects of oil industry, Gachsaran Oil and Gas Production Company has processed close to 800,000 barrels of oil with the help of mobile refining devices since March 2017, the company’s managing director said.
“GOGPC, the second largest crude producer in the country, has used environmentally-friendly and domestically-manufactured mobile oil treaters and mobile oil separators to refine more than 800,000 barrels in the last 11 months,” Houshang Seidali was also quoted as saying by National Iranian Oil Company’s news portal on Friday.
MOT and MOS are devices used for eliminating acid, gas, water, salt, sand and silt from crude oil and pumping it into the pipeline during the drilling, repairing, acidizing and testing of oil wells. Such devices could also be utilized for oil wells with different oil properties. As emphasized in its name, this device is mobile and it is possible to utilize it on any needed oil well and then easily transfer and install it on another.
Pointing to the company’s commitment to environmental regulations, Seidali said, “The development of oil and gas industries without implementing eco-friendly technologies will spell an environmental catastrophe.”
Referring to a large amount of oil that has accumulated in a pit and burned during the drilling and testing of oil wells, the official noted that this gives rise to several irreparable environmental impacts, including air and soil pollution and wastage of energy resources, which explains why GOGPC has started producing and using these devices.
According to Seidali, three MOS and one MOT units have become operational in the company, adding that the mobile devices have been used to treat oil from oilfields operated under GOGPC, namely Rag-e-Sefid, Pazanan, Golkhari and Kilver Karim.
“The company is one of the subsidiaries of National Iranian South Oil Company that produces 600,000 bpd of oil and 28,000 cubic meters of natural gas per day on average,” he said.
“Eighteen oilfields in Gachsaran region, 11 gas pressure booster stations, three gas and liquid gas complexes and five chemical laboratories are currently active under this company.”
Desalting Projects
Asked about oil desalting projects in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province in the southern oil regions, Seidali noed that two new oil projects will be inaugurated in late February, which will help the company boost crude production.
“Upon the completion of Gachsaran-3 desalting plant with a capacity of processing 110,000 bpd as well as Bibi Hakimeh-1 plant with a 55,000 bpd capacity, GOGPC ‘s crude output will surpass 635,000 bpd,” he said.
According to Seidali, the initiative aims to achieve efficient desalting, improvement of production quality, protection of oil resources and easing of environmental woes.
In the last two years, major oil desalting projects have been undertaken in different Mansouri Oilfield with a processing capacity of 75,000 bpd as well as two desalting units at Lab-Sefid and Haft Shahidan oilfields with processing capacities of 30,000 bpd and 55,000 bpd respectively.
“The country has developed the technology to desalinate crude oil using electrostatic methods,” he said, adding that the method will enhance the quality of Iranian crude.
Crude oil comprises varying amounts of water and inorganic salts and sediments when extracted. The presence of salts, especially chlorides, corrodes oil processing equipment. Therefore, desalting has been used to reduce fouling in the crude distillation unit and corrosion in crude processing facilities.
