A new way to develop mineral depositsGTLittle (mini-plants for producing synthetic oil or methanol from associated gas)

Kirill LIATS

General Director Metaprocess

Utilization of associated gas is an ecological and commercial

necessity

• Up to 25 billion m3 of associated gas is flared annually.

• This amount increases annually by 1-3 billion m3

• CO2 and other harmful substances are emitted when gas is flared

• The environment is heated globally and locally. The permafrost areas are especially endangered

• Losses: $500 million to $5 billion per year

There is a solution!

GTL – gas-to-liquid

Why GAS-TO-LIQUID?

• Absence of spare capacity in pipelines

• Monopolistic disbursing prices when shipping through main pipelines

• Remoteness from end consumers of natural gas

• High cost of building new gas pipelines

• Substantially lower costs when shipping a liquid product

Synthetic oil as a commercial productLogistics

• Synthetic oil – a string of hydrocarbons С5-С17 in liquid state at normal temperature

• Sulfur, asphaltens, aromatics are absent

• Output can be shifted toward paraffins or alpha-olefins

• Consumers: oil refineries, petrochemical plants

• Synthetic oil can be processed at minimum cost into motor fuels (gasoline, diesel fuel). The cetane number of the diesel fuel is 70.

Synthetic oil as a commercial productLogistics

• Used for own needs in gas production

• Used as a product for subsequent processing into formaldehydes, carbamide-formaldehyde tars, olefins.

• Other consumers: chemical plants, fertilizer plants, pulp and paper combines, woodworking and furniture factories

Advantages of designing mini-plants at the stage of developing oilfields

• Minimization of expenditures

• Reduction of ecological payments

• Obtaining a commercial product from waste material

• Capitalization of gas, facilitation of transporting it

• Possibility of optimizing the infrastructure of the mini-plant to fit the entire development program

Aspects of designing and building mini-plants using the technology

of Metaprocess Inc.

Economic indicators for a methanol plant

Capacity, tons per year 12 500 20 000 30 000

Capital costs, $ million 10 15 18

Duration of construction, months

18 20 30

Cost of methanol per ton (including amortization), $

186 176 170

Number of operating personnel per shift

7 7 9

Economic indicators for GTL plant

Capacity, tons per year 15 000 50 000 100 000

Capital costs, $ million 14,8 25 48

Duration of construction, months

18 28 32

Cost of GTL per ton (including amortization), $

180-200 160-180 145-160

Number of operating personnel per shift

7 12 30

Economic indicators per ton of methanol

Consumption of main material resources per ton of methanol

Natural gas 1200 m3

Catalyst for hydrogenation of sulfur compounds 0,18 kg

Absorbent of sulfur compounds 0,48 kg

Catalyst for conversion of natural gas 0,023 kg

Catalyst for synthesis of methanol 0,6 kg

Electric power 420 Kwt

Water, chemically purified 906 kg

Economic indicators per ton of GTL

Consumption of main material resources per ton of methanol

Natural gas 2044 m3

Catalyst for hydrogenation of sulfur compounds 0,18 kg

Absorbent of sulfur compounds 0,48 kg

Catalyst for conversion of natural gas 0,025 kg

Catalyst for synthesis of GTL 0,002 kg

Electric power ---

Water, chemically purified 2400 kg

General Principles of GTL Production

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LF

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SU

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STEAM REFORMING (PRODUCTION

OF SYNTHESIS-GAS)

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SC

H S

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TH

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GAS

GTL Steam tube conversion

Quench reactor (cold bypasses) methanol synthesis reactor

GTL Steam tube conversion

Fisher-Tropsch tube reactor

Assembling of Mini-Methanol unitExhausteur

Assembling of mini-methanol unitAir-coolers

Assembling of mini-methanol unit

Assembling of mini-methanol unit

Assembling of mini-methanol unit

Non-sponsor financing of GTLittle construction.The Strategic Reserves project

• Solving the problem of associated gas utilization by selling it at the site where it is fed to the processing company’s flare

• Solving the problem of monetizing non-transportable gas by selling it at the well of the processing company

• Providing the processing company with a site for building a GTL plant or unit

• The company "Strategic Reserves" is a partner and customer of Metaprocess Corp. which attracts investment for building plants and units for producing synthetic oil and methanol from natural and associated gas

GTL UnitPilot Fisher-Tropsch reactor

• Pilot unit of gas-to-liquid processing has been assembling

• It will be launched until 15-th of March in Novocherkassk

Permanent battle with flaring gasGas purification unit in Chechnya

• Dry gas sulfur purification unit

• Domestic consumption of clean oilwell gas

• Reduction of flaring 250 mln cubic metres of oilwell gas annually