"All refinery personnel are on standby during cold days to ensure no issues arise in the production process," said Yahya Feizi.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Feizi outlined the company's optimization efforts. "Although this refinery is a state-owned company, our view is that we must operate as an economic enterprise and be profitable through high productivity and efficiency," he said.

On the company's vision, Feizi added: "Our vision for the year 1408 in the Iranian calendar is to become the leading gas refining company in gas storage, production stability, and knowledge-based products. This goal has been outlined as a priority in the country's seventh development plan."

New Production Record Set

Feizi announced a new production record, with a output of 58.042 million cubic meters per day registered in Dey 1403 (December 2024-January 2025). "In 1403 (2024-2025), even during harsh winter conditions when the temperature reached minus 20 degrees Celsius, the company continued operations without any reduction in production," he stated.

He also noted improvements in gas storage for 1403, saying, "This year, for the first time, domestically manufactured turbines were used, which helped improve the gas storage process. We stored 2.131 billion cubic meters of gas, which is 341 million cubic meters more than last year."

Five Key Environmental Pillars

Feizi said all actions at the refinery are based on precise processes and specific procedures. Necessary forecasts and tasks for all units are precisely determined from the beginning of the Iranian month of Mehr (late September).

He defined five key environmental pillars: zero emission of air pollutants, elimination of wastewater discharge, reduction of waste burning, increased energy recycling, and completion of the sanitary sewage cycle.

"The refinery's water consumption, which was initially projected to be 4,000 cubic meters, has now been reduced to 2,500 cubic meters through the implementation of recycling plans," Feizi added.

Domestic Implementation of Flare Reduction Project

On the important flare reduction project, Feizi said that in the Iranian year 1396 (2017), an intermediary company quoted a cost of $6 million for its implementation. However, in line with a "resistance economy" policy, it was decided to execute the project using domestic expertise.

By forming a specialized team and collaborating with an elite academic from Sharif University of Technology, the project was implemented in three phases, Feizi said. This included collecting sweet gases for use as fuel, designing and building a unit to treat sour gas, and repairing leaks and valves leading to the flare.

"With these measures, the amount of gas sent to the flare has been reduced from 24,000 cubic meters per day to less than 700 cubic meters," he said.

Pioneering Waste Gas Recovery

Feizi said that under the sixth development plan, refineries were required to recover and use 90% of waste gas. "This company was a pioneer in this area, and fortunately, this has been fully achieved," he emphasized.

He noted that cooperation with the private sector on sulfur granulation has created many benefits for the refinery, beyond reducing investment and transport costs. The company is pursuing knowledge-based projects in energy and the use of renewables.

"It is planned to launch a 2-megawatt solar power plant at the refinery's water supply facilities; this step is in line with achieving environmental and economic goals," Feizi said.

Maximizing Use of Smart Systems

Feizi said the refinery is continuously utilizing smart systems. "In the past, adjusting the energy consumption balance in the control room was done manually, but now smart systems perform this task automatically, leading to optimized energy consumption and increased productivity in the refinery's processes," he stated.

In collaboration with Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, an energy decision-making system was launched. "Over the past three years, the use of this system has reduced the refinery's energy consumption by about 2%, equivalent to a savings of 50 billion tomans in fuel gas (approximately $1.2 million at the time of writing)," Feizi said. "This reduction shows the power and efficiency of smartization, which, with low investment, has resulted in a very high return."

On social responsibility, Feizi said the refinery focuses on empowerment and creating sustainable capacity in local communities across distribution, service, and production sectors.