Hassan Abbasszadeh, deputy petroleum minister and
NPC managing director, told lawmakers visiting the complex that Bidboland is
the largest flare-gas gathering project in the country and a critical supplier
of feedstock to downstream petrochemical plants.
Abbasszadeh said the project has already brought
most of its processing capacity online and will reach full operation once
remaining flare-gas connections are completed. “This facility is central to the
petrochemical sector’s drive for growth, efficiency and value creation,” he
said.
According to NPC data, roughly 600 million cubic
feet per day of associated gas is being collected. Abbasszadeh said the
initiative is among the priority directives of the president and oil minister
to ensure that valuable flare gas enters the national production chain instead
of being burned.
He noted progress on a major propane-to-propylene
project adjacent to the complex, financed partly through foreign-currency
Islamic Murabaha bonds. The unit, he said, will support employment and curb the
export of unprocessed hydrocarbons. Polypropylene, its downstream output, is
considered a strategic petrochemical product with an extensive value chain.
$5b Invested in Bidboland Projects
Total investment across the Bidboland chain has
surpassed USD 5 billion, Abbasszadeh said. He added that flare-gas gathering
and transmission alone — excluding processing facilities — required USD 1.1
billion. Some flare stacks connected to the network date back more than 70
years and have required long pipeline routes and extensive compressor
installations.
So far, gas from 57 flare stacks has been
integrated into the network, with 14 fully extinguished and routed to
processing. Remaining units will be connected by the end of next year, he said.
The project, he added, makes a significant contribution to Iran’s commitments
to carbon-emissions reduction.
1.5 Bcf/d of Gas to Be Captured Across Four Major
Projects
Abbasszadeh said four principal flare-gas
gathering schemes — including Bidboland, the Persian Gulf Gas Refinery, a
regional project in Behbahan and Khuzestan, and a program to improve flare
performance and supply feedstock to Maroon Petrochemical — will collectively
capture 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day, equal to 42 million cubic
metres. He said the Persian Gulf project alone is now collecting 240 million
cubic feet per day and supplying plants in Bandar Imam.
Feedstock Shortage Leaves 22% of Industry Idle
Feedstock remains the top challenge in the
seventh development plan for the petrochemical sector, Abbasszadeh said, noting
that 22% of production capacity is currently idle due to insufficient supply.
Flare-gas recovery, he added, is the most reliable long-term solution.
He said the industry met all its obligations in
the first year of the plan. Ten of 15 expansion projects targeted for the
current year have already been completed, with one more due by June.
Abbasszadeh cited additional measures to free up
natural gas, including demand-management programs in colder provinces and
LNG-swap strategies to reduce power-plant consumption.
Weekly Presidential Oversight, Broad Local Impact
The NPC chief said the president holds weekly
meetings with senior oil-industry officials to accelerate flare-gas projects, a
level of attention that has helped speed progress.
He added that extensive deployments of technical
teams across Rag-e Sefid, Ahvaz, Omidieh and other hubs have generated
significant direct and indirect employment, stimulating industrial and
service-sector activity across Khuzestan.
Calling flare-gas recovery a “major gift” to the
province, Abbasszadeh said the initiative will not only secure feedstock for
petrochemical plants but also cut air pollution in one of Iran’s most
environmentally sensitive regions.