Speaking Saturday at the inauguration ceremony of the gas gathering project for southern Ilam’s oil fields (NGL 3100), Cheraghi said: "Undoubtedly, this project is the result of relentless day-and-night efforts, collective wisdom, and the hard work of oil and gas sector officials and workers, which has now come to fruition by God’s grace."

He emphasized that the project’s implementation would leave a lasting impact and deliver two key outcomes: sustainable employment and the fulfillment of social responsibilities tied to the initiative.

Cheraghi, Dehloran’s representative, expressed hope that the Dehloran Petrochemical Project would soon be completed to boost local employment, adding: "We hope oil and gas projects in Ilam province will positively impact business, the economy, and livelihoods in the region."

The gas gathering project in southern Ilam includes the NGL 3100 complex, two pressure-boosting stations, a 100-megawatt power plant, and over 350 kilometers of pipelines for feedstock and product transfer, with a capacity of 240 million cubic feet per day. The rich gas produced is sent to the NGL 3100 complex for sweetening, dehydration, and processing, yielding products such as lean gas, C2+ (ethane and heavier compounds), sulfur, and gas liquids.

The NGL 3100 facility produces 1,055 tons per year of C2+, 132,000 tons per year of sulfur, 850 barrels per day of gas condensates, and over 4.3 million cubic meters per day of sweet gas. The sweet gas is injected into the national gas grid, while heavier components are sent to downstream facilities, including the NGL 3200 (Hoveyzeh Persian Gulf Gas Refinery) in the West Karun region and then to Bandar Imam Petrochemical. Once operational, the Dehloran Petrochemical Project will use the C2+ feedstock.

The total investment in the project is $1.6 billion, which will extinguish eight flares in the region and prevent the burning of associated gas worth over $700 million annually.

Currently, the project—with over 85% of its equipment sourced domestically—has begun operations, receiving about 80 million cubic feet of feedstock per day, with plans to gradually reach full capacity.

The NGL 3100 project will directly employ 1,500 people and indirectly support 3,000 more. Alongside significantly reducing environmental pollutants and improving air quality, the project enhances wealth preservation and value addition by completing the hydrocarbon value chain, playing a key role in alleviating regional deprivation.