Developing Sour Gas Resources with
Controlled Freeze Zone™ Technology
Dr. Charles (Chuck) Mart
Research Manager – Gas Technology
ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
Houston, Texas, USA
Global Perspectives:
Outlook for Natural Gas Supply/Demand
Gas Production
• Natural gas expected to be
the fastest growing fuel
source for the next 20 years
• Demand growth expected in
power generation sector LNG
because of lower emissions Pipeline
Gas to Diesel & Lubes
and greater efficiency with
natural gas fired units
• Domestic and imported
supplies will be needed to
meet regional gas demands
via pipeline and LNG End User
deliveries
2
Global Perspectives:
Challenges with Sour Natural Gas Resources
• Provide clean-burning natural gas from Global Gas Resource Distribution
increasingly sour gas resources Remaining
- As much as 1/3 of global conventional Ultimate
Recoverable -
resources have significant amounts of Undeveloped
CO2 and H2S
- Fields with CO2 contents greater than 30% Undiscovered Conventional
and H2S content greater than 10% are
encountered more frequently
Sour Source: USGS;
• Management of contaminants Industry databases
- Increased focus on CO2 removal and
disposition
- Alternatives to sulfur production
- Geosequestration of CO2
• Challenging economics for developing
sour gas reserves
- Smaller amounts of valuable hydrocarbon
- Remote gas developments
3
Controlled Freeze ZoneTM
4
Controlled Freeze Zone™:
Technology Uses a Different Approach
Rather than avoiding solidification of CO2,
control it and confine it to specially designed section in distillation column
Sweet Gas
34 bar Top
-84° C Conventional
TCD Distillation
L+V
Controlled
S+V CFZ Freeze
Zone™
T LIQUID
L+V Bottom
BCD Conventional
Distillation
VAPOR
-1° C
CO 2 x,y C1
Sour Liquid
5
CFZTM Advantages:
Capital Costs and Energy Efficiency
Overall Costs Sales Revenue
AGI Pipeline
100 Dehydration 110
Treating
90
Relative Revenue - Electricity(%)
80
Relative Capital Costs (%)
70
105
60
50
40
30 100
20
10
0 TM TM 95
Selexol Bulk Ryan-Holmes CFZ Selexol
TM
Bulk Ryan-Holmes CFZ TM
Frac+SelexolTM Frac+SelexolTM
• 10 - 27% lower overall capital costs • 5 - 16% more energy efficient
• 12 - 37% cost savings for treating • 4 - 8% greater sales
Less Equipment Lower Emissions
Lower Costs More Gas Supply
6
Controlled Freeze Zone™:
History of Technology Development
• Invented at Exxon Production Research Co. in 1983
– Original patent granted in 1985
• Pilot plant operated in 1986
– Proved CFZTM concept for CO2 removal
• Engineering studies and process improvements 1987+
- Six additional patents
- Nine pending patent applications
• Commercial Demonstration Plant
operation to begin in 2010
- Test wide range of compositions,
with CO2 and H2S
- Integrate with acid gas injection
- Provide design basis for world-
scale plant
7
Case Study:
Summary of CFZ™ Incentives
• Significant capital and operating
expense savings
- Fewer processing steps and less
equipment for all applications
- Reduction or elimination of solvents
and additives
- Lower acid gas injection costs
+ High pressure separation
+ Liquid acid gas stream can be
pumped for reinjection vs.
costly compression
- Provides alternative for sulfur plants Equipment Not Needed by CFZTM
• Higher efficiency provides more
clean gas supply
The Higher the Sour Gas
• Environmental benefits Content, the Greater the
- Allows economic CO2 injection for Benefits
geosequestration or EOR
