TEHRAN - Gholamreza Bahman-Nia, head of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC)’s Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) department has said his company is following a comprehensive plan for reducing gas flaring in South Pars refineries by 2,344 million cubic meters (mcm) in two years.

“Reducing the release of pollutants has always been one of the main approaches of the National Iranian Gas Company and its subsidiaries in order to protect the environment, and so far, many programs and measures have been carried out in this regard,” Bahman-Nia told Shana on Saturday.

Stating that NIGC’s plan is divided into three major sections, the official clarified: “Reduction of gas flaring, reduction of sulfur oxides emission and additional treatment of wastewater are the three main programs for which several projects have been defined.”

According to Bahman-Nia, NIGC’s projects are mainly focused on reducing flare gases and the emission of sulfur oxides.

Based on the NIGC programs, in addition to reducing gas flaring, the total sulfur dioxide emitted from South Pars refineries is also going to be reduced by 488,500 tons per year, he stated.

In this regard, several measures, including resolving operational problems, process optimization, and installation of additional systems, are underway in the operational units of the refineries and especially their sulfur production units, the official added.

In order to achieve a desirable level of environmental protection and sustainable development, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and the Oil Ministry have been implementing various programs, one of which is promoting the establishment of flare gas recovery units in the country’s oil-rich regions.

These projects have been defined with the aim of preventing the waste of natural gas, protecting the environment, creating added value, and providing sustainable feed to the country’s petrochemical plants in the mentioned areas.

To this end, back in September 2018, National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) inked two deals worth $1.3 billion with Persian Gulf Bid Boland Gas Refining Company and Maroon Petrochemical Company.

Also, in June 2020, Iranian Central Oil Fields Company (ICOFC) signed a €125-million Engineering Procurement, Construction and Financing (EPCF) deal with an Iranian company for implementing a project that would prevent 82 million square feet of gas flaring every day.

Back in August 2019, Hamid Chitchian, a former minister who currently advises the government on energy issues, said the country had major projects planned to prevent flare gas waste.

According to Chitchian, at the time about 16 billion cubic meters (over 52 billion cubic feet) of flare gas was burning in the country that could be used for various economic purposes, including power generation.

EF/MA