UNIT 3

NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS AND

TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT
 Natural resources
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
• , which have enabled rapid development
of modern civilization, were formed in the
Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic Era. The
process started between 145 and 146 million
years ago and ended 65 million years ago.
At the global scale, it is a very short period
of time, because according to current scientific
data, the Earth is between 4.5 and 4.6 billion
years old.
 Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)
• PRMS
In 2007, the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)
developed the Petroleum Resources Management
System (PRMS). According to the PRMS standards,
reserves are classified as proved, probable, and
possible. Considered is therefore not only the fact
of hydrocarbon discovery in the subsurface, but
also the economic efficiency of production. All costs
involved in production and transportation, current
prices for hydrocarbon feedstock, and other factors
are taken into account.
 Purifying Natural Gas

• Natural gas goes through a major transformation before reaching consumers.

• Natural gas processing consists of separating all of the various hydrocarbons and
fluids from the pure natural gas, to produce what is known as 'pipeline quality' dry
natural gas. Due to vigorous standards, natural gas must be purified before it can
be transported.
• While some of the needed processing can be accomplished at or near the
wellhead (field processing), the complete processing of natural gas takes place at a
processing plant, usually located in a natural gas producing region. The extracted
natural gas is transported to these processing plants through a network of
gathering pipelines, which are small-diameter, low pressure pipes.
• The actual practice of processing natural gas to pipeline dry gas quality levels can
be quite complex, but usually involves four main processes to remove the various
impurities:
• Oil and Condensate Removal
• Water Removal
• Separation of Natural Gas Liquids
• Sulfur and Carbon Dioxide Removal
 Typical Pipeline System

Pipeline Types

Gas
Gas Gas Gas Gas
Gathering
Source Treatment Transmission Distribution
System

Typical Gas Transmission & Distribution

DT SV IP RT

RT
DT: Dispatch Terminal
SV: Sectionalizing Valve
IP : Intermediate Pigging Station
RT : Receiving Terminal

5
Contd.…
THANKS