Tehran, Iran, May 28
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad - Trend:
France has signed an agreement with Iran to help put out flares at Phases 2 and 3 of the South Pars (SP) Gas Field, said a Fars news agency report on May 28.
Flares at other phases of the gas filed will be also put out in the future if the ongoing project proves successful, it added.
The move aims to reduce pollution from flaring of gas in the energy-rich zone to the minimum.
The zone is located in the Persian Gulf straddling the maritime border between Iran and Qatar, covering an area of 9,700 square kilometers, of which 3,700 square kilometers belongs to Iran. It is estimated that the Iranian section of the field contains 14 trillion cubic meters of gas and 18 billion barrels of condensates in place.
Oil producing countries often burn or flare a certain amount of natural gas that accompanies crude oil to the surface which is too small to be recovered or pipelined to a processing facility. The phenomenon, however, emits hazardous air pollutants during the flaring of the associated gas.
Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh previously said that the country needed $5 billion in investment to stop flaring gas at its oilfields.
Last September, the country awarded a deal worth 42 million euros to a consortium led by France’s Sofregaz to stop flaring gas at phases 2 and 3 of the South Pars gas field.