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Source of Natural Gas

Natural gas has two primary sources: associated gas produced along with oil, and nonassociated gas found without oil. Associated gas exists as a gas cap above oil or dissolved in oil. Nonassociated gas is also called dry gas. Natural gas composition varies but primarily consists of methane along with heavier hydrocarbons like ethane and propane. Impurities in natural gas include water, hydrogen sulfide, mercury, naturally occurring radioactive materials, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. Coal bed methane is natural gas absorbed in coal seams and contains water, carbon dioxide, and methane when produced. Natural gas quality is classified as high or subquality depending on levels of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide.

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52 views

Source of Natural Gas

Natural gas has two primary sources: associated gas produced along with oil, and nonassociated gas found without oil. Associated gas exists as a gas cap above oil or dissolved in oil. Nonassociated gas is also called dry gas. Natural gas composition varies but primarily consists of methane along with heavier hydrocarbons like ethane and propane. Impurities in natural gas include water, hydrogen sulfide, mercury, naturally occurring radioactive materials, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. Coal bed methane is natural gas absorbed in coal seams and contains water, carbon dioxide, and methane when produced. Natural gas quality is classified as high or subquality depending on levels of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide.

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SOURCES OF NATURAL GAS

Conventional natural gas generally occurs in deep reservoirs, there are primary two
sources of “raw”natural gas which are ssociated with crude oil (associated gas) or in
reservoirs that contain little or no crude oil (nonassociated gas). Associated gas is produced
along with oil and separated at the casinghead or wellhead. It is also referred to as casinghead
gas, oil well gas, or dissolved gas. It can exist separately from crude oil, forming what is
known as a gas cap or dissolved in the crude oil. Nonassociated gas is sometimes referred to
as gas-well gas or dry gas. A class of reservoirs, referred to as gas condensate reservoirs,
occurs because of the high pressures and temperatures, the material is present not as a liquid
or a gas but as a very dense-high-pressure fluid.

Figure 1 shows a overall perspective of the steps involved in taking natural gas from
the wellhead to the customer

Figure 1 Schematic overview of natural gas industry.


2. NATURAL GAS COMPOSITION

2.1 TRADITIONAL NATURAL GAS

Traditional natural gases, that is, associated and unassociated gas from wells, vary
substantially in composition. Table 1.4 shows a few typical gases. Water is almost always
present at wellhead conditions but is typically not shown in the analysis. It generally contains
large quantity of methane along with heavier hydrocarbon such as ethane, propane, isobutene,
etc.
2.2 IMPORTANT IMPURITIES

number of impurities can affect how the natural gas is processed:

Water. Most gas produced contains water, which must be removed. Concentrations
range from trace amounts to saturation. Sulfur species. If the hydrogen sulfide (H2S)
concentration is greater than 2 to 3%, carbonyl sulfide (COS), carbon disulfide (CS2),
elemental sulfur, and mercaptans* may be present. Mercury. Trace quantities of mercury
may be present in some gases because mercury can damage the brazed aluminum heat
exchangers used in cryogenic applications. NORM. Naturally occurring radioactive materials
(NORM) may also present problems in gas processing. The radioactive gas radon can occur
in wellhead gas at levels from 1 to 1,450 pCi/l.

Diluents have extreme amounts of undesirable components that make it too viscous
and to dense to be pumped and flow. For example, wells that contain as much as 92% carbon
dioxide (Colorado), 88% hydrogen sulfide (Alberta, Canada), and 86% nitrogen (Texas) have
been observed. Oxygen. Some gas-gathering systems in the United States operate below
atmospheric pressure. As a result of leaking pipelines, open valves, and other system
compromises, oxygen is an important impurity to monitor. A significant amount of corrosion
in gas processing is related to oxygen ingress.

2.3 COAL BED METHANE

Coal beds contain large amounts of natural gas (usually referred to as coal bed
methane, or CBM) that is adsorbed on the internal surfaces of the coal or absorbed within the
coal’s structure. It can be produced in large quantities from wells drilled into the coal seam
by decreasing the reservoir pressure. As is the case with conventional natural gas, the
composition of the CBM produced varies widely. In addition to methane, these gases may
contain up to 20% ethane and heavier hydrocarbons and substantial levels of carbon dioxide.
However, a typical CBM analysis would reveal water saturation, up to 10% carbon dioxide,
up to 1% nitrogen, no or very small amounts of ethane and heavier hydrocarbons, and a
balance of methane. Because water is normally present in the reservoir, it is produced in
significant amounts along with the CBM, and this produced water can pose a significant
problem because it may contain large quantities of dissolved solids that make it unfit for
domestic or agricultural uses (National Petroleum Technology Office, 2004).
2.4 SUBQUALITY GAS

The Gas Research Institute (Meyer,


2000) classified natural gases from the lower
48 states as high quality and subquality.
Subquality is divided into seven categories,
depending on the amount of N2, CO2, and H2S
present. For their definition of subquality. The
gas contains more than 2% CO2, 4%N2, and 4
ppmv H2S. Table 1.5 summarizes the
evaluation for proven raw reserves.

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