A NEW PROCESS FOR CONVERTING NATURAL GAS INTO HYDROCARBON LIQUIDS

Abstract

Gas-to-liquids technology has become an intensely investigated field in the petrochemical industries. The obvious reason is the vast reserves of stranded natural gas (currently flared, reinjected or not produced) and the desire to monetise these resources. Conventional wisdom has gravitated to some variation of Fischer- Tropsch technology to produce hydrocarbon liquids from natural gas. We have developed an entirely different approach for this conversion and licensed the technology to Synfuels International of Dallas for commercialisation.

The new process has several advantages: it is simple; it should be economical for flows ranging from 10 MMSCFD through 500 MMSCFD; it can be skid-mounted (at lower flow rates) for transportation to site; it appears that the cost of fluids produced would be less than $20 per barrel; it is nearly energy self-sufficient; water can be a by-product; and the nominal product is a light gasoline with about a C7 molecular weight that can be converted into a heavier fraction with extra processing. This paper presents some details of the process and discusses results from a 100 MSCFD pilot unit.