TEHRAN – Associated gas recovery from Bangestan and Lab-Sefid oil and gas fields, southwest Iran, and its injection into oil wells could save the nation over $62m in foreign exchange, managing director of the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) told the Persian service of ISNA on Saturday.

“At the moment, Lab-Sefid produces 18,000 bpd of oil with 19 million cubic meters of associated gas yet to be recovered,” Seifollah Jashnsaz added, projecting that collection and injection process from both fields may offer 1,400 barrels of condensate per day at the annual value of $9.5 million. Moreover, a project of this nature could increase oil production capacity by 6,000 bpd which may easily amount to $50 million per year. “The value of 19 million cubic meters gas burned into the air is over $3.5 million per annum at current rate.”

The initial evaluation sets the cost of this project at Rls.570 billion ($64m) to be completed by early March 2009, he observed.

Lab-Sefid field is located 40 km northeast of Dezful in Khuzestan Province.