USE OF CATALYTIC DE-RICHMENT TO MAXIMISE SHALE GAS PRODUCTION

摘要

The introduction of directional drilling coupled with hydraulic fracturing has opened up for exploitation hitherto ignored reserves of natural gas. The gas now being recovered is referred to as originating from shale, tight sands and coal. The nature of the formation holding the gas means that the gas composition is closer to associated gas than is usually the case for natural gas wells. Thus the gas may contain significant levels of C2+ hydrocarbons. This means that the gas cannot always be supplied directly in to transmission pipelines. Heavy hydrocarbons can be recovered and shipped separately but high levels of ethane may be a problem. Ethane is a valuable feedstock but not always easy to transport from the remote locations now being drilled. Catalytic de-richment (CDR~(TM)) provides a convenient method of converting inconvenient heavy hydrocarbons into methane. This avoids the need for flaring and allows increased production of pipeline gas.