"Two phases of the FGR venture have become operational and the completion of other phases is high on the refinery's agenda," Mojtaba Monbeti was also quoted as saying by Shana, the Oil Ministry's news agency.
FGR is the process of recovering gases that would normally be flared, so they can be used as fuel gas elsewhere in the facility, which helps reduce emissions and cost.
According to the official, the implementation of the first phase helped the refining station, located in the city of Sarakhs in Khorasan Razavi Province, reduce its hazardous carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 79,000 tons per annum, Financial Tribune reported.
On the importance of zero flaring initiatives for ensuring zero hydrocarbon discharge into the environment, Monbeti said the flaring of natural gas contributes to climate change and impacts the environment through the emission of carbon dioxide, black carbon and other pollutants. It also wastes a valuable energy resource that could be used to advance sustainable development in producing countries.
According to a World Bank report, thousands of gas flares at oil production sites around the world burn approximately 140 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, causing more than 300 million tons of carbon dioxide to be emitted into the atmosphere.
If this amount of gas is used for power generation, it can provide 750 billion kilowatts per hour of electricity, or more than the African Continent’s current annual electricity consumption.
"The gas processing company, which is Iran’s largest producer of sulfur, receives billions of cubic meters of sour and sweet gas from Khangiran Gas Field in Khorasan Razavi Province as well as Shourijeh gas storage facility in the city of Sarakhs in the same province," he added.
Monbeti noted that although sulfur is the base raw material to produce commodities like sulfuric acid, the company should make concerted efforts to manufacture more value-added products from sulfur. The complex supplies natural gas to the provinces of North Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, South Khorasan, Golestan, Mazandaran and some parts of Semnan.