The National Iranian Oil Company has implemented a comprehensive program to collect associated gas daily with the aim of controlling flare gas. This initiative has gained special importance due to the gas imbalance in the cold season and the necessity to increase efficiency in the energy production chain.
Production and Waste of Associated Gas
According to Reza Khailai, the manager of oil and gas production supervision at the National Iranian Oil Company, about 80 million cubic meters of associated gas are produced daily in the country. Part of this gas enters the consumption network, but about 40 to 50 million cubic meters of the produced gas is still burned in flares. This statistic indicates that the flaring issue in Iran remains a significant challenge, while there is also considerable capacity to convert energy waste into a usable resource in the national economy.
Strategies for Collecting Flare Gas
The flare gas collection plan has been proposed as a key priority in the country's oil policy, and in this regard, short-term projects with a horizon of 18 to 30 months have been defined. These projects aim to bring part of the flare gas into the consumption cycle as quickly as possible. Additionally, larger projects, including the construction of processing units and NGL plants with a horizon of 7 to 10 years, have been planned to balance the country's immediate needs with long-term infrastructure requirements.
Hamid Bord, the CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company, announced the collection of 15 million cubic meters of associated gas so far and stated that by the end of the year, the collection of another 21 million cubic meters of flare gas is planned. This means that the total collected gas will reach 36 million cubic meters per day.
Economic and Environmental Benefits of Collecting Flare Gas
Collecting flare gas not only helps reduce the waste of valuable resources but can also provide energy for petrochemical industries, power plants, and other industrial units. This process will also contribute to increasing the resilience of the energy network during the cold months when household consumption rises. On the other hand, this initiative will help prevent the waste of national capital and reduce pollutant emissions in oil-rich regions.
Ultimately, controlling flare gas is considered a key action for reforming the exploitation of hydrocarbon resources and ensuring sustainable energy in the country. Given the existing challenges in transporting and processing these gases, the need for investment and the establishment of necessary infrastructure for collecting and utilizing these valuable resources is increasingly felt.
