Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Sour Associated Gas in the Middle East Peter Hauwert Presented at the 30 th ADIPEC SPE 172058
Jul 13, 2015
Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery
of Sour Associated Gas
in the Middle East
Peter Hauwert
Presented at the 30th ADIPEC
SPE 172058
Sour Associated gas
Flaring
• Middle East annually flares 29 BCM of gas [1]
• Feed for 20 mtpa LNG plant(12 B$ @ 12 $/MMBTU)
Reserves
• 57% of gas <0.1%v H2S [2]
• 32% contains 0.1-1%v H2SNon-produced gas > 1000 scf/bbl, values available in IHS EDIN
Small SRU
• Relevant for >25% of gas currently not produced
BCM = 109 m3 MT = 109 kg Tscf = 1012 scf = 28 x109 m3
[1] World Bank - Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership (2007)
[2] Golombok (Shell), E&P 2008 (from IHS EDIN database)
<100 ton/d S: <0.1%, <0.5%,<1% H2S
6.2
OutlineOutline
Sulfur recovery process
comparison
Thiopaq O&G Process
Process in desert
environment
Case study
100 kg/d S1 t/d S
10 t/d S
50 t/d S
200 t/d S
10
100
1,000
10,000
100,000
1,000,000
0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0
H2S
co
cen
trati
on
in f
eed
(%
vo
l.)
Feed gas Flow (x106 Nm3/d)
Assessment of RFQs for H2S containing feeds
100% H2S
10% H2S
1% H2S
0.1% H2S
1000 ppm
100 ppm
10 ppm
Small Scale Sulfur Recovery
Small scale sulfur recovery processes
Aqueous iron Thiopaq O&G
CrystaSulf
Catalytic
oxidation
Comparison commercial small scale SRU
Aqueous
iron
Thiopaq
O&G
Crysta
Sulf
Catalytic
oxidation
Sulfur load (tonne S/d) 1-20 1-100+ 1-20 1-20 (-200)
H2S removal (%) 99.9+ 99.9+ >99.8 90 % /pass
H2S specification (ppmv) < 4 < 4 (> 4 bar)
< 25 (atm)
< 4 4-100
Pressure <30 bar LP / HP HP LP / HP
S quality Landfill Agro / Claus Claus Claus
Operational since ‘70s (LoCat)
‘90s (Sulferox)
1993 (biogas)
2002 (NG)
2005 2005
References > 200 (LC)
> 30 (SF)
> 200 (bio)
16 (NG)
< 5 < 5
Operations & HSE - ++ + +
Comments Foam issues Water consumption SO2 needed Input <10% H2S
Comparison small scale SRU
Adapted from: Lee, GPA Europe 30th Annual Conference, (2013)
Thiopaq O&G – Process description
Bioreactor
Decanter
Sulfur
Air out
Air in
Flash gas
Feed gas
Product gas
Condensate
NaOH water nutrients
( )
Feed pre-treatment Absorber Regeneration Solid sulfur separation
Bleed
Flash (optional)
Settler
Absorber
H2S + OH- HS- + H2O
CO2 + OH- HCO3
-
with carbonate buffer (pH 8.0-9.5)
Regenerator
HS- + ½ O2 Sx + OH-
HCO3-
CO2 + OH-
HS- + 2 O2 SO42- + H+
2 HS- + 2 O2 S2O32- + H2O
Control
Thiopaq O&G in the Middle East?
??
?
??
??
“It’s hot!!”
“We don’t have water”
“They’re bacteria”
“Is it proven?”(Feedback we have had from clients)
“what do I do with the sulfur?”
Applicability – Ambient Conditions
• Ambient temperature & solar irradiation
• Feed gas cooling & knockout
o Hydrocarbon dewpoint (30-35 oC)
o Well-fluids and heavy hydrocarbons
o Stabilizes operation of absorber
• Solvent cooling (40 oC)
o Absorption & reaction enthalpy
o Bacteria 35-45 oC optimal
Cooling system (60-100 kW / ton S)
Insulation
Adapted from SolarGIS © 2014 GeoModel Solar
ThioPaq plant constructed in Egypt:
Kijlstra, Laurence Reid Gas Cond. Conf (2001)
Applicability – Remote operation
• Limited operator attention
o Robust operation
o Daily analyses & maintenance
o Simple start-up & shutdown
• Limited maintenance
o Main equipment: static tanks
o Rotating: installed spares
• Consumabes
o Caustic, nutrients & potable water
o No fuel gas, limited power on pumps & coolingPlant operation data in Netherlands plant,
courtesy of Paques B.V.
Applicability – Remote construction
• Modularized construction
o Main vessels road transportable
o Pumps & small equipment skid-mounted
o Controlled manufacturing environment
o Limited site work
• Fast track possible
o No higher alloys (Incoloy / Titanium /Duplex)
o Limited long-lead items
o Standardized design
Case study
• Design: 165 m3/h solvent circulation
o 1 absorber (1.8 m ID x 18.3 m TT)
o 3 aerated tanks (4.0 m ID x 8.1 m TT)
• Consumables: 1 m3/d caustic (50wt%) & 17 (ME)-18 (EU) m3/d water
• Power:
o Feed cooling (78 kW)
o Solvent cooling (158 kW, EU / 226 kW, ME)
o Air blower (110 kW) & Pump duty (35 kW )
• Impact of desert environment – case study
o Typical associated gas composition 0.5%v H2S, 5%v CO2
o 550 kNm3/d [20 MMSCFD] (40 oC, 3 bar) 4 tpd S
o Western Europe vs. Middle East
Case study – Design
Middle East
Western
Europe
Case study – Relative CAPEX
106%100%
Conclusions
• Small-mid scale sulfur recovery processes compared
o Several maturing options available
o Thiopaq O&G technically and commercially attractive
• Thiopaq O&G suitable for sour associated gas treatment
o Good performance also at low pressures
o Robust toward variations in feed
o Sweet spot for associated gas
• Thiopaq O&G applicable in desert environment
o Limited impact of ambient conditions on overall costs
o Low operator attendance
o Modular construction possible
Thank you for your attention
Acknowledgements
Frames
Lennard Spit
Paul Mulders
Hein Kandelaar
Lex Rotteveel
Elwin Janssen
Paqell
Gijs van Heeringen
Hans Wijnbelt
Paques
Erik van Zessen