The Middle East has some of the world’s largest sour oil and gas reserves. Gas treatment in this region is primarily focused on removing sulphur, and this where Dow Chemical, as an expert in this area with more than 50 gas treating references in the Middle East, including plants in Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE fits in.
It is important that the oil and gas industry, globally, and in the Middle East, actively works to reduce sulphur emissions to the atmosphere.
The sulphur contained in the sour oil and gas reserves in the region need to be extracted in order to make clean hydrocarbons for the world.
“Dow solvents are also used for the removal of H2S and CO2 in the Acid Gas Removal Unit (AGRU), and selective separation of CO2 and H2S in the Acid Gas Enrichment Unit (AGEU).
As part of its expertise in this area, Dow also offers consulting services to the Middle East petrochemical industry through the Amine Management Programme, which helps provide cost-effective and state-of-the-art sulphur removal solutions across the oil and gas processing value chain,” says Ajay Badhwar, global strategic market manager for Natural Gas, Gasification, and Ammonia, Dow Oil, Gas & Mining.
The Amine Management Programme (AMP) from Dow is a monitoring and maintenance service programme designed to optimise amine usage; reduce emissions and energy use; maximise solvent life, and minimise contaminants and corrosion.
The programme is employed worldwide to upgrade existing plants and design new plants for optimum gas processing efficiency and output.
“The cumulative result is a service that lowers capex and operating cost for new builds; reduced energy consumption, longer asset life, and increased through-put for existing plants; as well as ongoing trouble-shooting and optimisation to ensure the plant operates to reach specifications,” says Badhwar.
Badhwar expects to see a continued increase in the volume of gas processing for pipeline specification to accommodate the Middle East’s growing population, economies and standards of living.
He also anticipates continued high sulphur content in the oil and natural gas coming out of the ground, as well as, tightening environmental regulations to reduce the amount of sulphur emitted to the environment. The sulphur has to be extracted to lower and lower levels which is increasingly difficult – and that’s one area that Dow says it can help with.
“We anticipate an increased demand from our customers for higher performance and result. We offer customised solutions enabled by Dow’s chemistry expertise, proprietary simulation technology and Amine Management programme,” he adds.
Additionally, Badhwar expects to see a rise in demand for CO2 captured and either put to use or sequestered, to help reduce the world carbon footprint.
“There is also growing interest in evaluating the potential to re-use CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). World-scale gas plants in the region are potential sources of CO2, at a higher purity and pressure than is available from combustion flue gas.
Dow provides a depth of direct experience in removing CO2 across all the major gas sources – hydrocarbons, syngas, and flue gas – and welcomes discussions around how CO2 EOR might be considered for specific projects in the Middle East,” concludes Badhwar.
How the AMP works:
- The process kicks off with an on-site visit from Dow’s specialists – experienced technical service engineers – who perform an initial examination of the sweetening system, including sample and data collection
- The data and samples are analyzed and evaluated via a proprietary simulation tool, which identifies and quantifies opportunities for system optimization
- Customised recommendations are then made, which may include improving amine efficiency through the use of UCARSOL Specialty Solvents, a proven line of specialty amines that allow for tailored contaminant removal and reduced energy consumption
- Dow engineers may also identify opportunities to extend solvent life and reduce corrosion potential through the use of the UCARSEP Process for heat stable amine salt management
- In addition to analytical services, Dow offers training and start-up support, as well as continuous system support, via the AMP, including on-call and periodic planned site visits to review process data and provide additional optimization recommendations.
The process is monitored through occasional samples and site visits to ensure the facility is operating at optimum conditions.
- An advantage of employing the AMP is that it is flexible, allowing customers to choose the combination of services to which they would like to subscribe – whether strictly analytical, combining analytical and technical support or the entire package – from initial analysis to ongoing process support
