Mohammad Mansouri, the company's production manager, said the flare-gas collection program is one of the oil industry's top priorities and is being carried out through short-, medium- and long-term projects.

He said average daily flaring at the company has already fallen from about 27 million cubic meters in 1403 (2024-25) to 22.2 million cubic meters currently.

Mansouri added that flaring will decline further once projects tied to the Bidboland Gulf of Persia Gas Refining Company are completed, though he cautioned that reducing flaring to zero is not technically or operationally feasible.

He said Bidboland is investing $1.1 billion in 27 subprojects across various operational areas to upgrade and build gas-collection facilities.

Of the 269 flares across the company's operations, 112 are currently active, Mansouri said, adding that they will be shut down gradually as associated-gas collection projects come online, according to a set schedule.

Mansouri also described a broader tender program covering 39 work packages stretching from Ahvaz to Bibi Hakimeh, which are expected to collect a combined 504 million cubic feet of associated gas per day once finished.

Six of those packages are already operating, collecting 78 million cubic feet of gas daily, he said. Another 17 are under construction and will add capacity for 197 million cubic feet per day upon completion. A further 16 packages have been awarded and are in the contracting stage, with a projected capacity of 190 million cubic feet per day, while four more packages — representing 39 million cubic feet per day — are in the process of being awarded.

Mansouri also pointed to two long-term associated-gas collection projects backed by petrochemical companies. One, led by Marun Petrochemical Co., aims to capture more than 5 million cubic meters of flared gas daily from the Ahvaz and Marun fields and is now 75% complete.

Once finished, the project will collect about 593 million cubic feet of gas per day that is currently sent to flares, Mansouri said. He added that the project is expected to reach full operation in the first half of 1407 (starting March 2028).