Iran expects to open a natural gas liquids (NGL) plant near its main oil export facility on Kharg Island before March 2014, Iran's oil ministry news service reported on Wednesday.

The project will gather associated gases from Iran's oil fields to produce up to 600 million cubic feet of gas liquid per day, Shana reported a National Iranian Offshore Oil Company official as saying during a ministry visit to the Gulf oil export island on Tuesday.

The plant, which is half built, could capture 400 mcf/d of gas currently being flared from nearby oil facilities. NGLs include propane, butane, pentane, hexane and heptane.

The vast majority of Iran's oil exports are shipped from Kharg Island, but exports from the facility have fallen sharply in 2012 due to sanctions on Iranian fuel exports.-Reuters