Natural gas processing

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Overview

• Natural gas is a complex mixture of hydrocarbon. That hydrocarbon ranges from C1 methane up to
C7, C8 with some non-hydrocarbon gases like carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, water vapor, a
trace amount of nitrogen, and some rare gases like helium and others.

• These hydrocarbon gases are combustible by nature and produce energy when it is combusted. So,
the natural gas comes under the subcategory of petroleum.
• Natural gas is a colorless, odorless, combustible and clean energy. So, some mercaptans like
Thiols are added in the natural gas to detect, its leakage, or its presence.

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Natural gas is considered ‘dry’ when it is almost pure methane, having had most of the other commonly
associated hydrocarbons removed. When other hydrocarbons are present, the natural gas is ‘wet’.

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Paraffins
• Paraffins containing less than 5 Methane C1

carbon atoms per molecule are Ethane C2

usually gaseous at room Propane C3

Butane C4
temperature.
Pentane C5
• Paraffins having 5 to 15 carbon Hexane C6
atoms are usually liquids. Heptane C7
• Paraffins having more than 15 Octane C8

carbon atoms are solids. Nonane C9

Decane C10
• All paraffins are colourless.

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Volume of natural gas exported from Libya from 2010 to 2021(in billion cubic meters)

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Natural gas:
• Natural gas is made up of a mixture of four naturally occurring gases, all of which have different
molecular structures. This mixture consists primarily of methane, which makes up 70-90% of
natural gas along with ethane, butane and propane.
• Natural gas is odorless, colorless, flammable and non-toxic.
• It is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon atoms connected together to form sized hydrocarbon
molecules(𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑠, 𝐶𝑛 𝐻2𝑛+2 ).

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 Natural Gas Resources

Conventional natural gas is either associated or non-associated gas.

Associated or dissolved gas is found with crude oil. Dissolved gas
is that portion of the gas dissolved in the crude oil and associated
gas (sometimes called gas-cap gas) is free gas in contact with the
crude oil.
Non-associated gas is found in a reservoir that contains a minimal
quantity of crude oil.

Non conventional natural gas is found in tight sands, gas in

tight shales, coal-bed methane, gas in geopressured reservoirs,
and gas in gas hydrates.
Wet gas: consists of C1, C2, C3, C4, C5 and to a less extend C6,
C7, C8
Dry gas: is primarily a mixture of C1, C2 and to less extent C3

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Global Energy Sources

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Biggest oil and gas companies:

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Biggest oil and gas fields:

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Natural gas prices:

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terajoule

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Gas units
There are 379 ft3 per 1 lb-mole at std
Std; Standard Condition 60oF , 14.7 psia
1,000,000 ft3/day at std=1 MMscfd
Btu; British thermal unit

Liquid Units

1 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑙 = 42 𝑈𝑆 𝑔𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑠
1 𝑈𝑆 𝑔𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑛 = 3.78 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠
1 𝑚3 = 1000 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠
𝑐𝑐 = 𝑚𝑙

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Natural gas processing:
Natural gas, as produced at wellhead or separator usually requires considerable processing to meet
environmental regulation, sales, reinjection and pipeline specification

The gas has some contaminant and NGL. Removing contaminant ( water, hydrogen sulfide, non
combustible inert gases), removing NGL.

Other component:
Inert gases

Nitrogen N2
Helium He Acid gases
Argon Ar
Hydrogen H2 Hydrogen sulfide H2S
Oxygen O2 CO2
Carbon dioxide

Sulfur compounds
Methyl Mercaptan CH3SH Water vapor: H2O
Ethyl Mercaptan C2H5SH
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 Natural gas processing

Water ( dehydration) (liquid desiccants (Glycol), solid bed desiccant (molecular sieves), methanol injection).
Hydrogen sulfide( sweeting) ( chemical reaction (Amine sweetening), membrane separation, batch process).

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Natural gas processing

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Natural gas processing

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In general, natural gas processing includes the following steps:

➢ Condensate and Water Removal (separation)

➢ Acid Gas Removal (sweetening)
➢ Dehydration – moisture removal
➢ Mercury Removal
➢ Nitrogen Rejection
➢ NGL Recovery, Separation, Fractionation, and Treatment of Natural Gas Liquids

In addition to these processes, it is often necessary to install scrubbers and heaters at or near the wellhead.
The scrubbers remove sand and other large-particle impurities. The heaters ensure that the temperature of
the natural gas does not drop too low and form a hydrate with the water in the gas stream.

The gas must meet some or all the following specification: (OUR GOALS)
1. Water content (H2O dew point)
2. Maximum hydrocarbon content ( dew point)
3. CO2 content
4. Sulfur content(H2S)
5. Heating value
6. Solid content
7. Free of liquids
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Higher heating valu HHV( gross heating value(GHV)) assume that all H2O produced by complete
combustion as liquid
Lower heating value LHV (net heating value(NHV)) assume that all H2O produced are vapour

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API Gravity

• Refers to crude oil liquid density at 60𝑜 𝐹.

141.5
• 𝐴𝑃𝐼 𝑜 = 𝑆𝐺60/60𝑜 𝐹
− 131.5

• Measured by means of a hydrometer or pyknometer.

• The higher 𝐴𝑃𝐼, the lower 𝑆. 𝐺., the better the crude oil.
• 𝐴𝑃𝐼 range: 10𝑜 𝐴𝑃𝐼 to over 50𝑜 𝐴𝑃𝐼.
• 𝐴𝑃𝐼 gravities are not linear and, thus, cannot be averaged.
• Specific gravities can be averaged.

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Gas Types:
• Sour Gas is natural gas that contains measurable amounts of hydrogen sulphide (H2S),CO2 and sulfur
compound (mercaptans).

• Sweet Gas is contains only trace quantities of H2S and CO2.

• Wet Gas (rich gas) is a natural gas that has a lower methane content (typically below 85%) that is intermixed
with water vapor and natural gas liquids (NGLs) such as propane, butane, and pentane. ( liquid dropped out
once gas reaches the surface(2 phase region))

• Dry Gas (lean gas) is mostly methane and contains only negligible amounts of dissolved liquid hydrocarbons
(for example, hexane and octane) and impurities. The higher the methane concentration, the drier the natural
gas.In the United States, dry gases are defined as those that contain less than 0.1 gallon of condensable per
1,000 cubic feet of produced gas. Falling outside of the 2 phase envelope (no formation of NGL)

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 1. Composition
Phase behavior:
2. Reservoir and surface P and T

Critical point: the critical point for

multicomponent system is reffered
as the state of pressure and
temperature at which all intensive
properties of gas and liquid phase
are equal.

Cricondenbar (Pcb): the highest

pressure at which two phase can’t
coexist.

Cricondentherm (Tct): the highest

Temperature at which two phase
can’t coexist.

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P-T diagram are used to: 1. Classify reservoirs
2. Classify the phase behavior of
reservoir fluid

Oil reservoirs: if the reservoir

temperature T is less than critical
temperature Tc of the reservoir
fluid.

Gas reservoir: if the reservoir

temperature is greater than the
critical temperature of the
hydrocarbon fluid.

Retrograde gas-condensate
reservoir: if the reservoir
temperature between critical
temperature and Cricondentherm
temperature

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Source: Hydrocarbon Phase Behavior - Production Technology (production-technology.org)
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Bbl, BOE, BTU, Mcf and Other Common Oil
and Gas Abbreviations
• BBL refers to a barrel of crude oil. In the oil industry, an oil barrel is 42
US gallons
• GPM refers to gallons per minute.
• CFM is cubic feet per minute
• MCF stands for 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas.

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BTU:
• BTU is a unit of heat which stands for “British Thermal Unit.”
• BTU is a measure of the energy content of a fuel,
• As an approximation, for natural gas, 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas
yields about 1,000,000 BTU when burned.
• The price of natural gas is often expressed in currency units per
energy content. For example, US dollars per million BTU (USD per
MMBtu or ~1,000 cubic feet of natural gas).

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BOE
• “barrel of oil equivalent.” It is a unit of energy .
• Crude oil reserves are measured in barrels (BBL) and natural gas is
measured in cubic feet (mcf). Converting these reserves to a barrel of
oil equivalent, or BOE, gives a total energy content in a single unit.
Now natural gas and other energy resources can be equally compared
to the energy from one barrel of oil.

6 MCF = 1 BOE
1 BOE is equal to 5.8 million BTU.

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Conversion factors

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HW:
Question 1. Please answer the following question:
1. Which country has the highest recoverable natural gas reserves?
2. Why we should move water vapor from natural gas?
3. What is the difference between LPG, LNG, NGL and their use.
Question 2. Choose the correct answer:
1. Curve separating the vapour phase region from the two-phase region is known as:
a. Critical point curve
b. Dew point curve
c. Bubble point curve
d. Quality curve
2. If the initial reservoir pressure is greater than bubble point pressure of the reservoir fluid, reservoir is known as:
a. Undersaturated reservoir
b. Saturated reservoir
c. Two phase reservoirs
3. If the reservoir temperature is above the critical temperature of hydrocarbon system, reservoir is classified as:
a. Oil reservoir
b. Gas reservoir
c. Near critical crude oil
d. None of the above
4. When natural gas contains significant amount of hydrogen sulphide, it is known as:
a. Lean gas.
b. Sweet gas
c. Sour gas
d. Rich gas 40
5. Gas which contains mainly methane (about 98%) and very few higher hydrocarbon are called………………...