Oil and gas production handbook An introduction to oil ... - ABB Group

Synthesis gas can also be created from natural gas by lean combustion or
steam reforming:
CH 4 + 1/2O 2 → CO + 2H 2
CH 4 + H 2 O → CO + 3H 2
Lean combustion
Steam reforming
This can be fed to the water shift reaction and to the F-T process. This
process, together with the following application, are often called gas to
liquids (GTL) processes.
An alternative use of the synthesis gases (CO and H 2 ) is production of
methanol and synthetic gasoline:
2 H 2 + CO → CH 3 OH Methanol synthesis
Then, the methanol is converted to synthetic gasoline in the Mobil process.
2 CH 3 OH → CH 3 OCH 3 + H 2 O Dehydration to dimethyl ether
The second stage further dehydrates the ether with ceolite catalyst to yield a
synthetic gasoline with 80% carbon number 5 and above.
9.1.6 Methane hydrates
Methane hydrates are the most recent form of
unconventional natural gas to be discovered
and researched. These formations are made
up of a lattice of frozen water, which forms a
sort of cage around molecules of methane.
Hydrates were first discovered in permafrost
regions of the Arctic and have been found in
most of the deepwater continental shelves
tested. The methane originates from organic
decay.
At the sea bottom, under high pressure and low temperatures, the hydrate is
heavier than water and cannot escape. Research has revealed that this form
of methane may be much more plentiful than first expected. Estimates range
anywhere from 180 to over 5800 trillion scm.
The US Geological Survey estimates that methane hydrates may contain
more organic carbon than all the world's coal, oil, and conventional natural
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