Speaking at a ceremony attended by President Masoud Pezeshkian to
inaugurate the Tous gas field development project and the Dehloran gas
pressure-boosting station, Paknejad said the figure represented a “significant
achievement” in efforts to reduce gas flaring and prevent the waste of national
resources.
He said around 7 million cubic metres per day of recovered gas had
been achieved under previous administrations, while the remaining 9 million
cubic metres had been realised over the past 15 to 16 months under the current
government.
Iran’s Petroleum Ministry has prioritised flare and associated gas
recovery to curb environmental pollution and comply with targets set under the
country’s Seventh Development Plan, Paknejad said. Under the plan, Iran aims to
collect about 44 million cubic metres per day of such gas.
Paknejad said Iran currently flares around 50 million cubic metres per
day of associated gas from oil fields, with an additional 5 million cubic
metres per day flared at gas processing facilities. He added that oil output
had risen by about 225,000 barrels per day over the past 14 months, increasing
associated gas volumes by roughly 5.7 million cubic metres per day.
He said 12 flare gas recovery contracts were underway and expected to
deliver an additional 8 to 9 million cubic metres per day within the next 15
months, leading to the shutdown of 32 flaring points.
The oil minister also said the Tous gas field, located about 100 km
from Mashhad in northeastern Iran, would add 1.5 million cubic metres per day
to gas production in its initial phase, with a further 1.5 million cubic metres
per day expected next year, bringing total additional output to 3 million cubic
metres per day. Total investment in the project exceeds 100 million euros.
Paknejad said the newly inaugurated Dehloran gas pressure-boosting
station, built with investment of about $150 million under an EPCF model, would
collect associated gas from the Dehloran and Danan oil fields and provide
around 1.8 million cubic metres per day of stable feedstock to the NGL 3100
plant and downstream petrochemical facilities.
He thanked oil industry specialists for their work under difficult
conditions and said the projects would contribute to economic development,
environmental protection and improved energy supply stability, particularly in
western and northeastern regions of the country.