Microchannel Gas-to-Liquids for Monetizing Associated and Stranded Gas Reserves

1 1. Velocys, Inc., 7950 Corporate Blvd., Plain City, Ohio 43064, USA Monetizing natural gas associated with remote oil production and stranded gas reserves without access to distribution infrastructure presents in enormous opportunity. However, to date, existing solutions, including LNG, CNG and chemical conversion to methanol, have not been adequate to address the bulk of the opportunity. This paper describes an emerging solution that does, the application of microchannel technology to steam methane reforming and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. When combined these processes convert natural gas into a synthetic crude that can be blended with petroleum crude and shipped via existing infrastructure. The application of microchannel technology enables both key processing steps in this gas-to-liquids (GTL) process to be economically scaled down to match associated and stranded gas resources both on and offshore. Microchannel reactors systems are entering the field demonstration phase with three projects in Austria and Brazil and being evaluated for several commercial facilities.