TEHRAN - Head of the Department of Environment (DOE), Ali Salajegheh, announced that the government has spent $5.5 billion to reduce gas flaring to improve air quality.

Speaking to Shana, DOE’s head said that since the 13th administration took office in August 2021, burning associated gases from 55 flares have come to a halt amid spending 5.5 billion dollars for upgrading the quality of fuels and improving air quality.

The government is determined to improve the Petro-refineries and gas processing plants efficiency so that air pollution will subside, he said noting over the last year the amount of burnt fuel oil reached the lowest when compared with preceding years.

According to the head of the Department of Environment, the 13th administration has taken serious steps to improve the quality of fuel at 10 oil refineries while those refineries have designed some major projects to reduce using fuel oil and desulfurize their oil products as well.

Last week, the managing director of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC), Morteza Shahmirzaie, told Shana the process of gathering associated gases will accelerate this year so that the majority of petrochemical complexes' gas flares will be turned off at the end of the current Iranian calendar year on March 20, 2025.

Visiting Assaluyeh, the host of gas processing plants south of Iran, NPC’s managing director added that NPC plans to pursue the gathering associated gases program more seriously this year.

“Gas flares play the role of safety valves so that when there is an emergency situation, they start burning to prevent the occurrence of an incident, and when there is a stable situation their burning is contained,” NPC’s managing director said.

He went on to say that in a year which has been named the Year of Production Leap Through People’s Participation, petrochemical projects will bear fruit one after another.

EF/