Overview of Gas Conditioning and Processing

4/8/2020 Overview of Gas Conditioning and Processing: Why Is This Required, and What Drives the Unit Op Selection
it Op Selection of a Facility?
1 Aug, 2020
Overview of Gas Conditioning and Processing: Why Is This Required, and What Drives the Unit Op Selection
of a Facility?
Raw natural gas that is produced from the reservoir always requires some type of
conditioning and processing before we can transport that gas to the customers. Why is
gas conditioning and processing necessary? Because our sales gas, and liquid
hydrocarbon products that we produce must meet the sales / product specifications.
These specifications are set contractually by: 1) the buyer, 2) the transporter, or 3) by
subsequent processing requirements. These product specifications are largely driven
around safety in the transportation, end use of the various commodity streams, or the
process operating conditions of downstream operations. Figure 1 provides a simplified
schematic of the Natural Gas Value Chain.
Figure 1. Gas Gathering and Processing in the Total Production System[1]
As one can see from Fig. 1, natural gas can be produced from many different types of
reservoirs. Unfortunately, there is no “typical” natural gas composition, the composition of
th th t t f th di t b th i iti dt hi h
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4/8/2020 Overview of Gas Conditioning and Processing: Why Is This Required, and What Drives the Unit Op Selection of a Facility?
the gas that comes out of the ground is set by the reservoir compositions and types, which
can vary widely. The first constraint in figuring out the unit operations that are required in
the gas conditioning and processing module, is understanding the inlet gas composition.
So, let’s take a quick review of the various reservoirs that are shown in Figure 1 and
discuss the possible hydrocarbon compositions and some common terminology used in
the industry.
Let’s start with the oil well, shown in the figure on the far left. Notice, when the produced
oil flows to production separator 1 in the figure, the oil flashes off some amount of solution
gas. The solution gas flowing from the production separator was in the oil phase at
reservoir conditions. As a result, this gas is very rich in heavy hydrocarbons. One of the
key parameters in determining the gas conditioning and processing requirements is how
much heavy hydrocarbons are present in the gas. Often times, the solution gas is
processed to recover the additional heavy hydrocarbons from this gas stream as
condensate and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The crude oil from the production separators
would be processed and transferred to the end buyers. Notice the solution gas is shown
going through some field treating (typically TEG Dehydration) and Compression (optional
depending upon reservoir pressures and gathering system layout) before it flows to the
Gas Processing Module. Notice, from the gas processing module, there are two streams
that are shown going back to the oil well, CO2 for EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery) and Gas
Lift and / or Injection. CO2 EOR, is outside of the scope of the TOTM.
Commonly, solution gas that is produced with crude oil is used for gas lift. Gas is injected
into the several gas-lift valves positioned along the well depth which are used during
start-up. Once the well is started-up all of the valves are closed, except for the valve at the
bottom remains open. The flow of gas is used to decrease the density of the crude in the
well to allow for higher crude production rates at the same differential pressure. Or the
gas may be reinjected into the reservoir to prolong and maintain the gas cap pressure
which provides the drive mechanism for crude oil to flow up the well bores. This will also
increase recoveries and the life of the field.
Let’s move to the next gas well with Production Separator 2, which is shown producing
natural gas from the gas cap of the oil reservoir (often referred to as associated gas), AND
gas from a conventional non-associated gas reservoir. Notice, in both cases, the gas that
is being produced is in the vapor phase at reservoir conditions. This implies that these
gases have a lighter composition than that of the solution gas. In terms of the
conventional non-associated gas reservoir, non-associated gas only refers to the fact that
the gas is “not associated” with any oil at reservoir conditions. Conventional refers to
traditional reservoirs (hydrocarbons and water) that has sufficient porosity to hold
economic quantities of hydrocarbons, and has permeability to allow the production of
these fluids. The reservoir is sealed by non-permeable rock, which essentially traps the
fluids in the reservoir. For conventional non-associated gas reservoirs, the composition
can range from lean to rich really depending upon the reservoir type, for example is it a
wet-gas (rich, or wet with heavy hydrocarbons) or dry-gas (lean – very little if any heavy
hydrocarbons). Sometimes wet / dry gas can be confused with water content. It should
y ) yg
be noted that all production from the reservoirs will be saturated with water, which is the
most common contaminant in natural gas that must be removed.
Notice, from Production Separator 2, that field condensate is being separated from the
produced natural gas. When rich gas is produced from a reservoir, the heavy
hydrocarbons (C5+) will be in the liquid phase at production separators temperatures and
pressures. This field condensate is often blended into the crude oil provided the crude oil
vapor pressure specification is not exceeded (as shown in Figure 1). This is done because
crude oil had a higher commodity value than field condensate, thus maximizing revenue
from the field production.
Let’s move now to Production Separator 3. This production separator is producing from
an “unconventional gas reservoir”. A few examples would be a shale gas reservoir, a tight
gas reservoir, or even coal bed methane (CBM). Shale gas is often referred to as
“resource plays” because the gas is trapped in the rock (like air in pockets trapped in
bread). The reservoir has very low permeability, thus fracking is required to produce
these wells. Shale gas can range from very lean and dry to very rich in heavy
hydrocarbons, with the composition changing within a single shale play depending upon
the depth and zone of the production. Table 1 provides some example compositions from
North American Shale Plays that highlights the variability in composition.
Table 1. Example Shale Gas Play Compositions [2]
CBM is similar to shale gas, except the gas is absorbed in the matrix of coal. The gas
composition is primarily methane, with possibly some CO2 / N2 and water. As a result of
CBM being primarily methane, this produced gas requires much less processing than the
others as there are no potential hydrocarbon liquids to recover to sell.
So, as was discussed here, the inlet gas composition to a gas processing facility can vary
significantly. The processing steps required for a given inlet composition to meet the
sales gas and possibly liquid product specifications is dependent upon that inlet gas
composition.
Essentially, STEP 1 - Know your fluids
Now that the inlet composition is understood, the next part of determining what processing
will be required is determining what products the facility is going to produce. This decision
sets the ultimate design of the plant. There are a number of factors that play here:
1. Probable forecast of reservoir performance / or size of shale play and drilling /

production plans
2. Local commodity markets and access to those markets
3. Local infrastructure available
4. Capital and Operating Costs of the various processing options
If we look back at Figure 1, let's focus on the products that a gas processing facility makes
and their uses.
Sales Gas (often referred to as Residue Gas) – natural gas that we use in our
homes
LNG – Liquified Natural Gas – means of transporting large volumes of gas to distant
markets
GTL – Gas to Liquids – process that converts natural gas into lube oils, diesel, etc.
NGLs – Natural Gas Liquids – these can be sold as pure commodity products
Ethane – Petrochemical feedstock for manufacture of ethylene
Propane* – Petrochemical feedstock for manufacture of propylene / residential,

commercial and transportation fuel
Iso-Butane - Refinery feedstock to alkylation unit / fuel use as LPG

Normal Butane – Gasoline (petrol) blending, petrochemical feedstock for

manufacturing light olefins, fuel use as LPG, and can be isomerized to i-C4
Natural Gasoline** – Refinery feedstock to reformer or isomerization unit,

petrochemical feedstock for manufacture of light olefins
* Often sold as liquified petroleum gas (LPG) which can be C3, C3-C4 mixture or
predominantly C4
** Natural gasoline is a North American term, also referred to as raw gasoline, light
naphtha or condensate in other regions
It should be noted, that heavier hydrocarbons have a higher market value as compared to
natural gas. When a facility is designed to do NGL extraction, the processor is taking
advantage of this price differential between the NGL products (ethane + heavier
hydrocarbons) and its value as a natural gas constituent. The value of NGL product as a
natural gas constituent is termed the “shrinkage value”. This represents the value
foregone by extraction of the NGL from the gas. So, for example, if one were to take all of
the propane out of a natural gas stream that would have been sold in the sales gas
stream, the sales gas stream “shrinks” because those propane molecules are removed
and being sold as a liquid product stream, that typically, has higher value than the sales
gas stream. Shrinkage is the highest operating cost in terms of an NGL extraction facility
and must be taken into account. I will write more about this in an forthcoming tip of the
month.
STEP 2 – Define the products you want to make
Now that the products of a facility are defined, the appropriate gas conditioning and
processing unit operations can be selected. Let’s take a quick look at what contaminants
may be found in produced natural gas and their associated problems. Note, these
contaminants will need to be removed to meet the appropriate sales gas and liquid
product specifications.
Typical well-stream impurities along with their associated problems are listed in Table 2.
Table 2. Example Impurities and their Associated Problems [2]
STEP 3 – Identify the contaminants that need to be removed, and to what level
The determination of what contaminants need to be removed and at what level depends
upon multiple factors. Each product commodity has its own product specifications, which
as mentioned previously is either set by 1) the buyer, 2) the transporter, or 3) by
subsequent processing requirements or regulations. For example, if we are in a situation
where there is an ethane market is available, the gas composition fits, etc.., then we will
need to go into a deep NGL extraction unit which requires cryogenic temperatures. This
would be an example of subsequent processing requirements where the process
operating temperature requires further contaminant removal (bone dry water content),
than say a pipeline sales gas specification. For cryogenic processing, there are also
tighter specifications on CO2 concentrations as well, as CO2 can freeze in the cold box
(think dry ice).
With that said, let’s take a quick look at some typical pipeline sales gas specifications from
around the world, as shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Example Sales-Gas / Transportation Specifications [2]
Liquid hydrocarbon products must be dry of water, and either have a vapor pressure or
composition specification, along with a total sulfur specification, or a copper test.
In terms of our products, they must be safe to use, and that means that all free liquid
water, or the possibility of free water condensing out in the system is eliminated. They
must be safe to burn without excessive sulfur dioxide emissions (H2S and total sulfur
specifications). In addition, the hydrocarbon dewpoint is important to ensure that as the
gas flows through the transmission line and cools to ambient conditions to the customers
that no liquid hydrocarbons can condense. This is important as these pipelines and
associated end users (your water heater for example) are not designed to deal with (or
burn) liquid hydrocarbons. As a result, these specifications are driven by the local
ambient conditions. The warmer the climate, the more water or heavy hydrocarbons are
acceptable in the sales gas stream as a result.
The gas must also meet the appropriate heating value and Wobbe number so that the
customers are assured the gas will burn safely in their gas turbines (for example in power
generation plants), or in your natural gas cook top at home.
STEP 4 – Select the appropriate unit operations
Now that the facility inputs (feed composition and flow rates), and outputs (sales products
we want to make) the process unit operations can be selected and optimized. Let’s take
a look at the options, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Example Gas Processing Facility Block Flow Diagram [2]
Gas Conditioning Options
Notice the first block in the process is Gas Conditioning. This is where the contaminant
removal takes place (CO2, H2S, H2O, Hg).
Sweetening, in all intents and purposes refers to removing all acid gas contaminants (CO2
and H2S). The selection of the technology to meet the acid gas specifications depends
largely on the concentration of the contaminants to be removed, and the inlet gas flow
rate. Technically, carbon dioxide (CO2), is not a sour component but is often removed in
the sweetening unit (amine treating).
Amine treating is the work-horse in the gas processing industry for CO2 and H2S removal,
and it is always done in the processing facility BEFORE dehydration because the amine
solution is generally about 50% by weight water. The gas will be saturated with water after
it leaves the acid gas treating unit (AGRU) as a result.
The second step is to dehydrate the gas, i.e., remove the water content to a “safe” level
depending upon either downstream processing requirements or end users.
In pipeline applications, this would require TEG dehydration. The water only needs to be
removed such that was are sure that it will not condense in the sales gas pipeline.
For cryogenic processing for deep NGL extraction (-101 C, -150 F), or LNG (-160 C, -260
F) this would require molecular sieve dehydration (bone dry gas is achieved but very
expensive $$). And the lastly, if we are going into cryogenic processing where aluminum
components are utilized, mercury removal is critical. In large base load LNG facilities, or
locations with high levels of mercury in the natural gas, there is a mercury removal bed
downstream of the mole sieve dehydration units.
Gas Processing - NGL Extraction Options
Once the gas is conditioned, it then flows on to the NGL extraction block. The technology
selected for the NGL extraction depends upon the operating objective of the facility and
the inlet gas composition. In modern gas processing facilities, the primary NGL extraction
technologies utilized are identified under item 3 below the NGL Extraction block in Figure
2:
3. Condensation:
JT Valve (Valve Expansion)
Mechanical Refrigeration
Turboexpander
NGL Extraction, in a nutshell, is very simple. All we are doing is cooling the gas down to
get the heavy hydrocarbons to condense out of the natural gas to meet one of two criteria:
1. A hydrocarbon dewpoint specification for a sales gas stream (minimal recoveries)
2. Deep NGL extraction to upgrade the value of the products the plant can sell
The different technologies listed under condensation simply cool the conditioned feed gas
stream down to a desired temperature to meet the required hydrocarbon recovery that we
want to achieve.
Typical process selections for hydrocarbon dewpoint facilities would be a JT plant or

mechanical refrigeration, as best case cold temperature achieved would be -40 C [-40 F].
For deep NGL extraction facilities (C2+ NGLs), a turboexpander plant is used. These
plants can achieve temperatures to roughly -101 C [-150 F]. The Gas Sub-Cooled
Process is the work-horse in North America in terms of our process operations,
recommend that you get online and see what that process operation is about.
Stabilization / Fractionation / Product Treating
The natural gas liquids for the gas processing plant will need to be stabilized (all of the
light hydrocarbons removed), so that they are safe to store and transport. These
specifications can vary significantly depending upon end markets and transportation
methods.
In some cases, this could be a stabilized condensate consisting of only C5+ having a
vapor pressure below atmospheric conditions (example of a hydrocarbon dewpoint plant).
In deep NGL extraction plants, often time the composition (C2/C3 ratio) is specified. This
is important as the fractionation facilities operations will only be equipped to process an
NGL stream of a composition within a given range.
The fractionation facilities consist of distillation towers that can separate the hydrocarbons
essentially based upon their boiling point differences, with the light hydrocarbons going
out the top of the column as the distillate products, and the heavy hydrocarbons, going out
the bottom as the bottoms product.
Product Treating – Why?
Depending upon the inlet gas composition, it is common for there to be CO2 or H2S in the
inlet gas that, after the gas goes through processing will not exceed the sales
specification. However, these contaminants will preferentially distribute to the
hydrocarbon liquid phase and can cause the ethane, propane, etc.. to not meet sulfur,
CO2 specifications. It is more economical to allow the contaminants to build up in the
product streams and treat the liquid product stream, rather than removing the contaminant
from the inlet gas stream. The amount of liquids needing to be treated is significantly
smaller (smaller equipment, lower capital cost, and lower operating cost).
There are a number of technologies than can be applied for liquid treating, and it really
depends on a number of factors which is the best solution for the facility which is outside
of the scope of this tip.
STEP 5 – Putting it all together - In Conclusion
I really hope that you found this tip useful. We reviewed at a very high level the issues
associated with gas processing and conditioning, and the primary processing blocks that
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2. Gas Conditioning and Processing, Volume 1: The Basics, 9 Edition, John M
Campbell, Editors: Robert A. Hubbard, Kindra Snow-McGregor, 2017.
KINDRA SNOW-MCGREGOR
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR OF OIL AND GAS PROCESSING
MRS. KINDRA MARIE SNOW-MCGREGOR is the Technical Director of Oil and Gas Processing with PetroSkills
| John M Campbell. She has a master's and bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering and Petroleum
Refining from the Colorado School of Mines, and over 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industr y. She
has been with the company for over 9 years, and has ser ved in several positions including manager of
consulting, senior staf f engineer and instructor, and discipline manager for the Oil and Gas Processing
Discipline. Prior to joining John M Campbell & Company in 2008, she ser ved in technical manager, process
engineering manager, and lead process engineering roles in the oil and gas engineering, procurement and
construction business. She has ser ved as the technical lead on several significant projects in the industr y for
clients such as BP, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Occidental, QatarGas, and X TO. Mrs. Snow-McGregor has
been active in the gas processing / midstream industr y for many years, and is on the Board of Directors for
the GPSA. In addition, she ser ves on the GPSA Engineering Data Book Editorial Review Board, and prior to
this role, ser ved on the GPA Technical Research Committee, Sub-Group 2, for over 11 years. She has
published seven technical papers at international conferences, ser ved as project coordinator for GPA
research repor t 221, and is a coinventor on two technology patents in the gas processing industr y.
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assoc ated t gas p ocess g a d co d t o g, a d t e p a y p ocess g b oc s t at
are required to go from the reservoir to market depending upon the gas composition.
So – why does my facility look the way it does? Well, it depended upon the initial
forecasted feed gas composition, reservoir reserves, and production rates, combined with
what the products were that they owner / operator decided was the most economic to sell
based upon the local market access and infrastructure available.
To learn more about similar cases and how to minimize operational problems, we suggest
attending our G2 (Overview of Gas Conditioning and Processing),
(https://petroskills.com/course/overview-of-gas-processing-g-2) G4 (Gas Conditioning and
Processing) (https://petroskills.com/course/gas-conditioning-and-processing-g-4), G5
(Practical Computer Simulation Applications in Gas Processing)
(https://www.petroskills.com/course/practical-computer-simulation-applications-in-gas-
processing-g-5), and G6 (Gas Treating and Sulfur Recovery)
(https://www.petroskills.com/course/gas-treating-and-sulfur-recovery-g-6) courses.
Written By: Kindra Snow-McGregor, PE
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REFERENCES
1. Cannon, R., “The Gas Processing Industry: Origin and Evolution”, Gas Processors
Association, 1993.
2 Gas Conditioning and Processing Volume 1: The Basics 9th Edition John M
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4/8/2020 Overview of Gas Conditioning and Processing: Why Is This Required, and What Drives the Unit Op Selection

Figure 1. Gas Gathering and Processing in the Total Production System[1]

Table 1. Example Shale Gas Play Compositions [2]

others as there are no potential hydrocarbon liquids to recover to sell.

Essentially, STEP 1 - Know your fluids

1. Probable forecast of reservoir performance / or size of shale play and drilling /

2. Local commodity markets and access to those markets

3. Local infrastructure available

4. Capital and Operating Costs of the various processing options

Ethane – Petrochemical feedstock for manufacture of ethylene

Propane* – Petrochemical feedstock for manufacture of propylene / residential,

Iso-Butane - Refinery feedstock to alkylation unit / fuel use as LPG

Normal Butane – Gasoline (petrol) blending, petrochemical feedstock for

Natural Gasoline** – Refinery feedstock to reformer or isomerization unit,

STEP 2 – Define the products you want to make

Table 2. Example Impurities and their Associated Problems [2]

Table 3. Example Sales-Gas / Transportation Specifications [2]

STEP 4 – Select the appropriate unit operations

Figure 2. Example Gas Processing Facility Block Flow Diagram [2]

Gas Conditioning Options

Gas Processing - NGL Extraction Options

JT Valve (Valve Expansion)

1. A hydrocarbon dewpoint specification for a sales gas stream (minimal recoveries)

Typical process selections for hydrocarbon dewpoint facilities would be a JT plant or

Stabilization / Fractionation / Product Treating

Product Treating – Why?

STEP 5 – Putting it all together - In Conclusion

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR OF OIL AND GAS PROCESSING

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Written By: Kindra Snow-McGregor, PE

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