Christoph Grabmayr, the Austrian Embassy's commercial counselor in Tehran made the statement on Wednesday at a ceremony to present the National Energy Globe Award in 2019 to Tamkar Gas Equipment Company (TGEC), the Oil Ministry's news portal reported.
"The efforts to protect the ecosystem made by companies like TGEC should be commended and highlighted so that they feel that have support and respect," Grabmayr noted.
Preserving the future of the planet and the right of future generations to live a fulfilling life should be a human right for everyone, Financial Tribune quoted him as saying.
According to the diplomat, TGEC developed a flare gas recovery system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Parsi Oilfield near Ahvaz in southern Khuzestan Province. The system has been billed as having a satisfactory technical performance and high economic feasibility.
By using gas compressor technology, flaring rate of the oil recovery unit has been significantly reduced and the recovery of compounds from flare gas for natural gas liquids (NGL) units has risen.
"In this project all climate-friendly conditions have been considered and thanks to local technology and special environment-friendly design, high ambient temperature does not have a negative effect on the operation of compressors," Behrouz Mahdavi, the TGEC deputy managing director, said.
According to Mahdavi, TGEC started building a gas plant in Khuzestan Province to collect 115,000 cubic meters of associated petroleum gas (APG) or flare gas in 2017 on a daily basis.
Eco-Friendly
The plant started work in May 2018 and in 6 months about 60 million cubic meters of burning gas was recovered. It has helped avoid waste of valuable resources while the release of 32,000 tons of carbon in the atmosphere has been prevented.
The company also produces 1,000 tons of gas condensates as feedstock for Bandar Imam Petrochemical Company in Khuzestan Province.
Referring to ongoing projects, Mahdavi said the a project to reduce greenhouse gas emission through recovery and utilization of 850,000 cubic meters of flare gas in Maroun 6 Gasfield has registered a work-in-progress of 50%.
Flaring is the burning of natural gas that cannot be processed or sold. The flaring of APG is an important safety measure at many oil and gas production sites, as it prevents industrial plant equipment from over-pressuring and exploding. Burning high levels of APG is a major source of air pollution.
Optimizing energy consumption and reducing environmental pollutants are major concerns in the oil and gas industries. As the only known way to curb waste of energy and emission of pollutants in the oil and gas industry is flaring, an effective mechanism to curtail and eliminate flare is crucial.
Massive Flaring
According to a World Bank report, a massive amount 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 about 750 billion kilowatts per hour of electricity, or more than the African continent’s current annual electricity consumption.
The National Energy Globe Award was presented to Omid Yasin Hospital in Yazd Province in 2018. This green hospital has an exclusive approach to protect the nature by harvesting solar energy and recycling wastewater.
The Energy Globe Award was founded in 1999 by the Austrian energy pioneer Wolfgang Neumann to present successful sustainable projects to a broad audience.
With more than 182 participating countries and over 2,000 project submissions annually the Energy Globe Award today is the most prestigious environmental prize worldwide.
It distinguishes projects regionally, nationally and globally that conserve resources such as energy or utilize renewable or emission-free sources. Award ceremonies are held all over the world.
Established in 2,000, TGEC has localized the design and manufacturing process of gas equipment with the help of Iranian engineers and entrepreneurs.