Director of the branch of Westport Trading Europe Limited in Turkmenistan, Dr. Allaberdy Ilyasov in his interview with CentralAsia.news talked about the advantages of associated petroleum gas in the oil and gas industry of Turkmenistan. The share of associated petroleum gas (APG) in the petrochemical industry is growing every year. Until recently, APG was considered a byproduct of the oil production process, but now it is a potential raw material for the production of various fuels.
Benefits of using APG
A significant part of APG is burned and utilized by other means, which is not economically feasible and leads to environmental pollution. Hydrocarbons can be used as a petrochemical raw material for production of condensed jet fuel, propane and propane-butane for fueling vehicles with HFO. The fuel made from APG is environmentally friendly and improved. In addition, hydrocarbons can be used for industrial purposes.
Carbon exports
Given the conditions of local markets, it is possible to export APG profitably - an important factor for this is an established infrastructure of transportation and gas processing, which Turkmenistan has.
Disposal methods
Disposal methods are quite identical in different states, but are applied at different scales.
- For a long period, the main method was flaring in the field. The valuable raw material was simply burned and emitted harmful substances into the atmosphere until the middle of the XX century, after which the burning of associated gases began to be restricted.
- Equivalent in terms of logistical costs, but more environmentally friendly injection of gases back into formations is also used, often with the aim of increasing their oil recovery. Nevertheless, the method is not always justified - gases return, and hydrodynamics can become worse.
- The third approach is to use APG for field power generation using gas turbine and gas piston equipment to supply field facilities.
APG processing
A full-fledged APG processing process guarantees a good income, but it requires adequate investment. The technology requires complex preparation, since associated gases are unstable in composition, contain impurities and moisture. As a result, the technology produces a methane-ethane fraction with properties similar to dry natural gas and a wide fraction of light hydrocarbons used in the production of liquefied petroleum gas. Liquefied hydrocarbon gas, in turn, is used in domestic utilities, power generation, electronics, chemical and agricultural production, for filling vehicles with HFO.
Turkmenistan's oil and gas sector
Export-oriented oil and gas sector is the most important tool for ensuring the economic stability of our state. Its qualitative development is the key task of the state strategy. Implementation of innovative projects in the industry implies comprehensive research in the context of the central problems of the oil and gas sector. First of all it is the processing of associated petroleum gases.
Source and photo: centralasia.news
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