316 Fundamentals of Natural Gas Processing

TABLE 14.1
Premises and Assumptions for All Capital Cost Data
Costs Include Costs Exclude

U.S. Gulf Coast location Miscellaneous equipment associated with

Those directly associated with process
Two-month startup operating expense
Initial supplies and minimum spare parts
Sales taxes
Contingency of 10%
New facilities only
grass-roots plant
Costs not directly associated with process
Site and site preparation
Owner home-office costs
Interest on investment during construction
Construction and bond costs

Source: Tannehill (2000).

The costs exclude any dehydration of gas after treating. Also, no costs are
allocated for BTEX containment. Operating and capital costs increase with acid gas
volume to be removed because both absorber and regenerator capacities must
increase to handle increased amine recirculation rates.

100.0
Capital cost, MM$

10.0

1.0

0.1
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Plant capacity, MMscfd

FIGURE 14.1 Capital cost of gas treating by use of DEA as a function of plant capacity
in 1999. The lines denoted by x, ,, denote 2, 5,10, and 20% acid gas removal,
respectively. See Table 14.1 and text for premises (Tannehill, 2000).

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