TEHRAN – The refurbishment and recoating of 13 damaged blades in a 16-inch metering system at the South Pars gas condensate terminal has saved Iran $1 million in foreign currency, officials said.
Positive displacement metering equipment is a precise and critical component of oil and gas measurement systems, directly affecting measurement accuracy, volume calculations, and the delivery and transfer of gas condensate.
After more than two decades of continuous use, several blades in the terminal’s 16-inch meters had become worn and damaged, requiring either refurbishment or replacement.
Given the importance of this equipment to the measurement process, along with growing restrictions on sourcing specialized parts from foreign manufacturers, mechanical repair experts at the South Pars gas condensate terminal — working with the procurement and materials management department — opted to refurbish the existing parts domestically rather than purchase replacements abroad.
The 13 damaged blades from the 16-inch meters underwent a refurbishment and recoating process, drawing on the expertise of specialists from the Iranian Oil Terminals Company and the technical capacity of a domestic knowledge-based firm.
After completing the required technical steps and inspections, the refurbished parts were certified operational and returned to service.
One of the project’s key economic outcomes was the $1 million saved by replacing foreign procurement with domestic refurbishment.
Beyond cutting foreign currency costs, the project extended the service life of existing equipment, kept recoverable parts in operation rather than discarding them, and reduced reliance on foreign suppliers.
The refurbishment also demonstrates the value of domestic knowledge-based companies and the transfer of technical expertise between oil industry specialists and the local technology sector — an approach officials say could be applied to the repair and refurbishment of other specialized and capital equipment in the oil industry.
The effort marks a step toward building domestic repair and refurbishment capacity, boosting the resilience of measurement equipment, and reducing dependence on foreign sources at the country’s oil terminals.