Air Pollution Reduction in South Pars area and Feasibility Study of implementing Clean Development Mechanism

Mahdi Tanha Ziarati South Pars Gas Complex, Asaluyeh, , (Head of Environment Dept)

Abstract:

South Pars gas field is the biggest independent gas reserve in the world which is shared by Iran and Qatar. According to the latest figures, the field contains more than 14 trillion cubic meters of natural world’s gas reserves and about 48 percent of Iran’s confirmed reserves.

The field is already being developed in ASSALUYEH in various phases; so far 14 gas processing plants have been formulated. With regard to the reservoir’s capacity, the development phases can be increased up to 28 phases, or even higher to further the development, plus 15 huge Complexes and a wide range of downstream petrochemical industries, different related industries, semi-heavy industries, marine industries and so on.

Because of these huge industrial activities in South Pars area and also complex topographical situation (all the plants are located on a narrow strip with less than 2 km width, between the in the south and a mountain range in the north), environmental pollutions, especially air pollution is the main concern in the area.

In the near future there will be 60 blazing flares with widely different composition and outlet gas emissions such as aromatics, ammonia, H2S ,SO2, VOC’s and greenhouse gases in the entire South Pars area. Our study shows that concentration of air pollution has been growing sharply in comparison with «Environmental Baseline Study and Environmental Impact Assessment on the 1998 by TOTAL »

Kyoto Protocol and its Market-based mechanisms, especially Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) could be powerfully used in attracting foreign investments and transferring modern technologies in order to reduce the level of air pollution in South Pars area, and also to benefit from the economical advantages of such projects like having foreign cash injected in the country.

In this article, while making feasibility study on applying CMD within South Pars Gas Complex (SPGC), it has been tried to consider and study a comprehensive plan for reduction of air pollution in the entire South Pars area.

It has already been planned to send a part of South Pars to AGHAJARI via a 560-kilometer-length 56” pipeline, in order to enhance recovery. This is an excellent opportunity to inject the flare gases to the line and send them away. The plan not only prevents further pollution of the air but also has other advantages which have been mentioned in the article.

In the first look at the plan, some problems may appear, such as: safety considerations due to possible existence of toxic components in the flare gases, uncertainty of the system due to variability of composition of the gases, low pressure of the gases, excessive fluctuation in the pressure and flow of the gases in flaring times, and disturbing the plant operation. The problems are, in details, discussed in the article and solutions or justifications are suggested for them.

Keywords: Air Pollution, Clean Development Mechanism, Gas Emission, Oil Enhance Recovery