A new process for well-head gas upgrading
(2013) In Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 13. p.1-6- Abstract
- As oil-prices and environmental concerns are increasing, it is of interest to better use the well-head gas.
This light fraction co-produced with petroleum is generally flared and in this paper a method for
upgrading and returning the co-product to the petroleum stream is suggested. The method is based on a
conversion of the gas to synthesis gas and upgrading this synthesis gas into liquid hydrocarbons. But as
the placement of such systems would be remote, the design has been performed using the following
criteria. First of all the system has to be robust in design and secondly it has to be self-sustaining in that
no additional feedstocks or chemicals are required for its operation and... (More) - As oil-prices and environmental concerns are increasing, it is of interest to better use the well-head gas.
This light fraction co-produced with petroleum is generally flared and in this paper a method for
upgrading and returning the co-product to the petroleum stream is suggested. The method is based on a
conversion of the gas to synthesis gas and upgrading this synthesis gas into liquid hydrocarbons. But as
the placement of such systems would be remote, the design has been performed using the following
criteria. First of all the system has to be robust in design and secondly it has to be self-sustaining in that
no additional feedstocks or chemicals are required for its operation and thirdly, the product should be
crude oil compatible.
In the paper, the system has been outlined, the major unit operations designed and heat and mass
balances have been determined. Six cases have been compared, differing in reforming and oxygen
generation technology. The comparison has been made on both a technical and production economic
premises. In each case the investment cost has been determined and from this, and the calculated
produced hydrocarbons, a production cost per barrel has been determined.
The production of hydrocarbons well-head gas is a viable route and the production cost for the hydrocarbons
vary between $71 and $156 a barrel, with the lower cost being quite attractive with the crude
prices of recent years (around $100 a barrel). The production cost is however heavily influenced by the
investment cost and the fact that the stranded natural gas is considered free. The production of an
alternative, upgraded fuel would be a possibility; this however warrants additional investment in both
production equipment and infrastructure. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/3736577
- author
- Tunå, Per LU and Hulteberg, Christian LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2013
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering
- volume
- 13
- pages
- 1 - 6
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000320150300001
- scopus:84876321147
- ISSN
- 2212-3865
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jngse.2013.03.003
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- ff8a1052-074d-4820-a87c-4db817748340 (old id 3736577)
- alternative location
- http://www.sciencedirect.com.ludwig.lub.lu.se/science/article/pii/S1875510013000176
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 10:30:41
- date last changed
- 2023-09-14 05:34:59
@article{ff8a1052-074d-4820-a87c-4db817748340, abstract = {{As oil-prices and environmental concerns are increasing, it is of interest to better use the well-head gas.<br/><br> This light fraction co-produced with petroleum is generally flared and in this paper a method for<br/><br> upgrading and returning the co-product to the petroleum stream is suggested. The method is based on a<br/><br> conversion of the gas to synthesis gas and upgrading this synthesis gas into liquid hydrocarbons. But as<br/><br> the placement of such systems would be remote, the design has been performed using the following<br/><br> criteria. First of all the system has to be robust in design and secondly it has to be self-sustaining in that<br/><br> no additional feedstocks or chemicals are required for its operation and thirdly, the product should be<br/><br> crude oil compatible.<br/><br> In the paper, the system has been outlined, the major unit operations designed and heat and mass<br/><br> balances have been determined. Six cases have been compared, differing in reforming and oxygen<br/><br> generation technology. The comparison has been made on both a technical and production economic<br/><br> premises. In each case the investment cost has been determined and from this, and the calculated<br/><br> produced hydrocarbons, a production cost per barrel has been determined.<br/><br> The production of hydrocarbons well-head gas is a viable route and the production cost for the hydrocarbons<br/><br> vary between $71 and $156 a barrel, with the lower cost being quite attractive with the crude<br/><br> prices of recent years (around $100 a barrel). The production cost is however heavily influenced by the<br/><br> investment cost and the fact that the stranded natural gas is considered free. The production of an<br/><br> alternative, upgraded fuel would be a possibility; this however warrants additional investment in both<br/><br> production equipment and infrastructure.}}, author = {{Tunå, Per and Hulteberg, Christian}}, issn = {{2212-3865}}, language = {{eng}}, pages = {{1--6}}, publisher = {{Elsevier}}, series = {{Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering}}, title = {{A new process for well-head gas upgrading}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2013.03.003}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.jngse.2013.03.003}}, volume = {{13}}, year = {{2013}}, }