Sour gas - A history of expertise - Total.com

04
SOUR GAS
s
1. Doha, Qatar.
What is
sour gas?
Sour gas is natural gas that
contains not only methane and
some long-chain hydrocarbons,
but also H2S and/or CO2.
Mercaptans, organic sulfur
compounds in the form R–S–H,
are usually also present. The
tubing, pipes and pumps for
sour gas must be made of special
metal, since H2S, CO2, and
mercaptans are corrosive. These
compounds must be removed
before the gas can be sold.
//. Context
Billions of cuBic mEtErs
of GAs wAitinG
to be tApped
s s s
Nearly 40% of the world’s gas reserves contain levels of
carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) that pose
obstacles to development. Overcoming those obstacles is
a key challenge for oil companies.
World demand for gas has risen at a rate of nearly 3% per year for the
past thirty years, making natural gas the fossil energy with the strongest
growth. The share of gas in global energy supply expanded from
16% in 1971 to 21% in 2004, and the International Energy Agency
forecasts continuing growth, to reach a share of 23% by 2030. In absolute
value, gas consumption is thus expected to increase considerably
from 2,800 to 4,700 billion cubic meters between 2004 and 2030.
This strong development is driven above all by the environmental
qualities of natural gas. It is a clean-burning fuel that leaves no
heavy residues such as soot or tar, and releases the lowest carbon
dioxide emissions of all the fossil fuels. Natural gas is also used to an
increasing extent in power generation, where it offers the additional
advantage of allowing very high efficiency in both cogeneration and
combined-cycle units.
Reserves of natural gas are abundant, totaling some 180,000 billion
cubic meters worldwide. However, nearly 40% of the fields lying
untapped contain concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen
sulfide (H2S) that pose obstacles to their development. Such sour gas
fields are found in Europe, Africa, North and South America and
the Far East, but the Middle East and Central Asia hold the largest
volumes. Total became a world pioneer in sour gas production with
its groundbreaking Lacq gas field development, in France.
Since then, the Company has built on its expertise and innovated
with techniques to enable the economically viable production
of these unconventional resources, in compliance with increasingly
tough sales gas specifications and environmental objectives. nnn