The Overlooked Perils of Heterogeneous Oil and Gas

Chapter 2 details the differences and similarities among twenty-first-century petroleum resources and distinguishes conventional from unconventional resources. The chapter argues that, while these definitions are muddled, there is value to understanding and parsing unconventional oil and gas. Numerous different oil and gas resources are then surveyed, including shale gas, ultradeep gas, Arctic gas, tight gas, coalbed methane, biogas, acid gas, geopressurized gas, methane hydrates, condensates, light tight oil, extra-heavy oil, ultradeep oil, Arctic oil, depleted oil, kerogen, biofuels, gas-to-liquids, and coal-to-liquids. Estimates are provided of cumulative industry greenhouse gas emissions for conventional versus unconventional oil and gas resources. The chapter concludes with a discussion of hydrogen—the ultimate unconventional resource—and its production pathways.

Efficient Surrogates Construction of Chemical Processes: Case studies on Pressure Swing Adsorption and Gas-to-Liquids

We propose a workflow for reduction in the time required for data generation during generation of statistical digital twins. This methodology is particularly relevant for real-world engineering problems when data generation is expensive. A prerequisite for building surrogates is sufficient input/output data, whereas over-sampling can hardly improve the regression accuracy. The time for data generation can be reduced via (1) reduction of the average time spent on generating individual data points and (2) reduction in the total number of data points, by reducing the sampling rate with the improvement of surrogate quality. Examples of a dynamic process and a steady-state process from the field of carbon capture and utilization are used as two case studies: pressure swing adsorption (PSA) and Gas-to-Liquids (GTL). With the proposed methodology, the time for surrogate generation can be reduced by 88% for PSA and 60% for GTL, respectively.

Gas to Liquids Techno-Economics of Associated Natural Gas, Bio Gas, and Landfill Gas

Methane is the second highest contributor to the greenhouse effect. Its global warming potential is 37 times that of CO2. Flaring-associated natural gas from remote oil reservoirs is currently the only economical alternative. Gas-to-liquid (GtL) technologies first convert natural gas into syngas, then it into liquids such as methanol, Fischer–Tropsch fuels or dimethyl ether. However, studies on the influence of feedstock composition are sparse, which also poses technical design challenges. Here, we examine the techno-economic analysis of a micro-refinery unit (MRU) that partially oxidizes methane-rich feedstocks and polymerizes the syngas formed via Fischer–Tropsch reaction. We consider three methane-containing waste gases: natural gas, biogas, and landfill gas. The FT fuel selling price is critical for the economy of the unit. A Monte Carlo simulation assesses the influence of the composition on the final product quantity as well as on the capital and operative expenses. The Aspen Plus simulation and Python calculate the net present value and payback time of the MRU for different price scenarios. The CO2 content in biogas and landfill gas limit the CO/H2 ratio to 1.3 and 0.9, respectively, which increases the olefins content of the final product. Compressors are the main source of capital cost while the labor cost represents 20–25% of the variable cost. An analysis of the impact of the plant dimension demonstrated that the higher number represents a favorable business model for this unit. A minimal production of 7,300,000 kg y−1 is required for MRU to have a positive net present value after 10 years when natural gas is the feedstock.