Abstract
The paper objective is to present the successful achievement by Saudi Aramco gas operations to reduce the carbon emission at Hawyiah NGL Recovery Plant (HNGLRP) after successful operation & maintainability of the newly state of the art Carbon Capture & Sequestration (CC&S) technology. This is in line with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) 2030 vision to increase the resources sustainability for future growth and part of Saudi Aramco circular economy in action examples.
Saudi Aramco CC&S started in June 2015 at HNGLRP with main objective to capture the carbon dioxide (CO2) from Acid Gas Removal Units (AGRUs) and then inject an annual mass of nearly 750 Kton of carbon dioxide into oil wells for sequestration and enhanced oil recovery maintainability. This is to replace the typical acid gas incineration process after AGRUs operation to reduce carbon footprint. CC&S consists of the followings: integrally geared multistage compressor, standalone dehydration system using Tri-Ethylene Glycol (TEG), CO2 vapor recovery unit (VRU), Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC) to treat water generated from compression and dehydration systems for reuse purpose, and special dense phase pump that transfers the dehydrated CO2 at supercritical phase through 85 km pipeline to replace the typical sea water injection methodology in enhancing oil recovery. CC&S has several new technologies and experiences represented by the compressor capacity, supercritical phase fluid pumping, using mechanical ejector application to maximize carbon recovery, and CO2/TEG dehydration system as non-typical dehydration system. CC&S design considered the occupational health hazards generated from the compressor operation by installing engineering enclosure with proper ventilation system to minimize the noise hazard. CC&S helped HNGLRP to reduce the overall Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission resulted from typical CO2 incineration process (thermal oxidizing). (2)
The total GHG resulted from combustion sources at HNGLRP reduced by nearly 30% since CC&S technology in operation. The fuel gas consumption to run the thermal oxidizers in AGRUs reduced by 75% and sent as sales gas instead. The Energy Intensity Index (EII) reduced by 8% since 2015, water reuse index (WRI) increased by 12%. In conclusion, the project shows significant reduction in the carbon emission, noticeable increase in the production, and considerable water reuse.
Simulation and Optimization of the Acid Gas Absorption Process by an Aqueous Diethanolamine Solution in a Natural Gas Sweetening Unit
