Iran Plans to Contain Associated Petroleum Gas from Oilfields : Iranian companies will build infrastructure to contain and collect associated petroleum gas from oilfields in its southern Khuzestan province, an official at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said on Saturday.

The NIOC will sign two contracts, which worth 1.2 billion U.S. dollars, with two domestic companies, namely Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company and Marun Petrochemical Company, to implement the project, said NIOC director of investment and business Mohammad Mostafavi, quoted by EghtesadOnline.

Associated petroleum gas is a form of natural gas found in deposits of petroleum. It is often released as a waste product. When it is burnt off in gas flares, it is referred to as flare gas.The project is scheduled to be completed in two years, Mostafavi said, adding that it aims to prevent the emission of 22 million cubic meters of flare gas per day in the region.

Mostafavi referred to obstacles and challenges to financing in the petroleum industry, noting that the NIOC’s meager share of revenue and value-added which it creates for the country was one of major challenges. He said that engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and the newly-developed Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) would be applied to the development of upstream oil projects. “In the implementation of oil production and preservation projects within the EPC framework, various methods of financing including project fund are used,” said Mostafavi.

The collected gas will be supplied to Iran’s under-construction Bid Boland-2 Gas Refinery and Marun Petrochemical Company, he added. Source: Xinhua