CONTROLLED FREEZE ZONE? COMMERCIAL DEMONSTRATION PLANT ADVANCES TECHNOLOGY FOR THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF NORTH AMERICAN SOUR GAS RESOURCES

摘要

The Controlled Freeze Zone (CFZ~(TM)) technology developed at the ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company enables the single-step removal and liquefaction of CO2 and other acid gas components present in sour natural gases. The resulting high pressure liquid can then be readily reinjected for geosequestration or EOR purposes. The CFZ~(TM) technology makes it possible to economically develop sour gas resources with CO2 contents as high as 70% or as low as 10 mol% or even less, while still protecting the environment from excessive greenhouse gas emissions. During the last year ExxonMobil successfully started up a commercial demonstration plant (CDP) at its Shute Creek Treating Facility in Wyoming. The CDP is able to process a wide range of compositions representative of global resources of interest. The CDP also demonstrates the advantages of discharging the sour gas components as a high pressure liquid stream and re-injecting these acid gas components via an existing acid gas injection (AGI) facility. In addition, ExxonMobil has carried out studies to identify the range of conditions where the CFZ? technology would be attractive in developing North American sour gas reserves. This paper will provide a review of the CFZ? technology, an overview of CDP operational data and information about the types of sour gas reserves where this technology might be applicable.