O F F S H O R E D E V E L O P M E N T
NATURAL GAS HYDRATES:
A NEW GAS-TRANSPORTATION FORM
Gas disposal is a problem in offshore fields
where there is no gas pipeline. The common
practice of reinjecting this gas is being ques-
tioned increasingly. Recent studies have
found that, although a floating liquefied-
natural-gas (LNG) plant is technically feasi-
ble, there is no suitable safe and reliable sys-
tem to transfer LNG at −162°C from the
production facility to a carrier. Converting
gas to liquid products other than LNG has
received considerable attention in recent
years. Natural-gas-hydrate (NGH) technol-
ogy provides an attractive alternative.
NGH’s form in pipelines and equipment
carrying natural gas if water is present. The
solid hydrates form readily at temperatures
less than 20°C and at pressures commonly
found in pipelines and process equipment.
Storage and transportation of gas as a frozen
hydrate has been studied at the Norwegian
U. of Science and Technology since 1990.
HYDRATE APPLIC ATION
NGH’s can contain 150 m3 gas/m3 NGH and
can be used for natural-gas storage and trans-
portation. Appendix A in the full-length
paper briefly presents the nature and proper-
ties of NGH’s. NGH’s have a structure similar
to that of frozen water, but the gas molecules
are located within the crystal structure not in
the space between individual crystals. Three
NGH structures have been identified. These
structures consist of several types of cages,
where each cage contains one gas molecule.
Cages are formed from several water mole-
cules held together by hydrogen bonds.
NGH’s can be stored at atmospheric pres-
sure if the temperature is a few degrees less
than the freezing point of water. This makes
cost-effective storage and transportation of
gas in the form of NGH’s possible. NGH’s
This article is a synopsis of paper SPE
50598, “Hydrate Concept for
Capturing Associated Gas,” by J.S.
Gudmundsson, SPE, V. Andersson,
SPE, O.I. Levik, SPE, and M.
Parlaktuna, SPE, Norwegian U. of
Science and Technology, originally pre-
sented at the 1998 SPE European
Petroleum Conference, The Hague,
The Netherlands, 20–22 October.
66
can be transported at atmospheric pressure
in shuttle tankers or mixed with refrigerat-
ed crude oil and transported under pressure
as a slurry in a pipeline. NGH’s can be
stored at atmospheric pressure in large or
small land-based or offshore facilities.
COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVES
The most common method of transporting
natural gas to market is by pipeline. When the
distance to market is long, it is more econom-
ical to transport natural gas as LNG. Other
transportation options require conversion of
natural gas into a more transportable product,
such as NGH, methanol, or syncrude.
Industry is investigating the conditions that
make these options more feasible than tradi-
tional pipelines and LNG transportation.
Transport Distance. In a NGH feasibility
study, capital costs for production and
regasification plants and ship transport were
examined. Fig. 1 shows a comparison of
costs for LNG, NGH, and syncrude as a
function of transportation distance. Capital
costs for production and regasification
plants are plotted at zero distance. The fig-
ure shows how the total capital costs of
NGH and LNG chains (production, ships,
and regasification) depend on transporta-
tion distance. NGH ships are estimated to
have lower capital costs than LNG ships.
In Fig. 1, the line identified as pipe repre-
sents capital costs of a typical pipeline to
transport natural gas. The capital costs were
Fig. 1—Approximate capital costs as a function of transportation distance.
estimated assuming Norwegian offshore
conditions for a 20-in. pipeline on the sea
bottom. Fig. 1 shows that, for distances
greater than approximately 1200 km, the
capital costs of a pipeline are more than that
for NGH transport. For distances greater
than 2000 km, the capital costs of a pipeline
are greater than LNG transport.
The line in Fig. 1 identified as syncrude rep-
resents the capital costs of a natural-gas trans-
portation train based on syncrude. Two pre-
liminary assumptions for the syncrude line are
that (1) capital costs of a syncrude production
plant are 30% more than a LNG plant and (2)
capital costs of syncrude ships are approxi-
mately 30% of capital costs of LNG ships.
HYDRATE SLURRY
NGH’s and crude oil can be refrigerated to
−10°C and combined to produce a slurry that
is stable at near-atmospheric pressure and can
be pumped through a pipeline or transported
by shuttle tanker. At the receiving terminal,
the slurry is heated to melt the hydrate and the
mixture is separated into gas, oil, and water.
Early Feasibility Study. One early study com-
pared reinjection of associated gas with trans-
portation of a crude-oil/NGH slurry for a float-
ing production, storage, and offloading (FPSO)
unit in a marginal offshore field. Assumed pro-
duction rate was 6000 m3/d crude oil with a
gas/oil ratio of 150. Incremental costs for gas
reinjection included compressors and an injec-
tion well. Incremental costs for slurry trans-
APRIL 1999 •
 O F F S H O R E D E V E L O P M E N T

portation included production process equip- and an 18-L separator vessel. Design capac- 2. NGH technology is safe and environ-
ment, shuttle tankers, and a land-based receiv- ity of the laboratory is 1 kg/hr NGH. A mentally friendly.
ing terminal. Incremental costs for the slurry joint-industry project has been established 3. Studies have shown that an NGH
option were higher than for the reinjection to provide data necessary to evaluate the chain is approximately 25% lower in capital
option, but the slurry option had a 3- to 4-year feasibility of NGH processes, including costs than an LNG chain.
payback time because the recovered associated construction of a pilot plant.
gas could be sold. Please read the full-length paper for
CONCLUSIONS additional detail, illustrations, and ref-
Slurry Process. Production of a crude-oil/ 1. NGH technology is an attractive alter- erences. The paper from which the
NGH slurry can be achieved in several ways native for capturing associated gas on off- synopsis has been taken has not been
on an FPSO. The full-length paper presents shore installations, such as FPSO’s. peer reviewed.
a process block diagram for one method
where the fluids are piped from production
wells into a separator. Separation quality is
not crucial. Gas from the main separator
enters a compressor, and pressure is
increased to 60 to 90 bar. The compressed
gas is cooled as much as is feasible before it
enters the hydrate reactor and cooling unit.
Water used in the process can be fresh
water, seawater, or produced water. Fresh
water use has several advantages. Fresh water
can be supplied from a shuttle tanker return-
ing from a slurry-receiving terminal. This
water can be stored in tanks on the FPSO and
cooled further before it enters the hydrate
reactor and cooling unit. Crude oil from the
main separator enters a heat exchanger and is
cooled as much as possible. Cooled gas,
crude oil, and water enter the hydrate reactor
and cooling unit. Approximately 410 kJ/kg is
required to form NGH.
A multiphase mixture consisting of excess
gas, solid hydrate, excess water, and crude oil
exit the reactor and enter a conventional hor-
izontal tank separator. Excess gas is separat-
ed and piped back to the compressor. Excess
water is kept at a minimum. Crude-oil vol-
ume of the slurry is approximately twice the
NGH volume. From the tank separator, the
slurry enters a bank of hydrocyclones where
NGH concentration is increased to 50%.
Slurry leaving the hydrocyclones has a tem-
perature of 15 to 20°C, a pressure of less than
60 to 90 bar, and a density of 900 to 950
kg/m3. Then the slurry is cooled to approxi-
mately −10°C and pressure is reduced to
atmospheric pressure in a pressure-reduction
and refrigeration unit. The mixture then is
transferred to the slurry-storage tanks on the
FPSO. A slurry pump is used to transfer the
slurry to a shuttle tanker at regular intervals.
Once the slurry reaches the receiving termi-
nal, it is heated to melt the NGH and sepa-
rated into natural gas saturated with water
vapor, crude oil saturated with gas and water,
and liquid water saturated with natural gas.

LABORATORY STUDIES
An NGH laboratory has been built to study
continuous production of NGH. The NGH
laboratory has a 9-L stirred-tank reactor

• APRIL 1999 67