Natural Gas Hydrates: Brief Introduction

Natural gas hydrates are fascinating compounds. In the production and processing of natural gas they are problematic, well known for plugging the pipes and damaging process equipment, which is the one of the biggest problems for the gas processing companies across the world. On the other hand, on the ocean bottom it is thought that vast amounts of hydrocarbons are trapped in these solid components, waiting for technically feasible means of production. Finally, hydrates have always been an academic curiosity. New aspects of hydrates are discovered annually and new theories must replace old ones. 

In 1811 Sir Humphry Davy, who gained fame for both his research on the methane-laden atmospheres in British coalmines and his synthesis of various new elements and compounds, witnessed the first chlorine hydrate crystallizing. 185 years later, natural gas hydrates have begun to play an important role in energy business. From being a mere chemical curiosity, they have proven to be a nuisance for the natural gas industry. Their importance increased in the 1970s, when they began to plug even the largest pipelines from offshore or arctic fields or the wells from high-pressure underground storage facilities.

Studies over the past two decades indicate that large gas hydrate plugs form most often after shut-in pipelines or wells begin to flow. When a pipeline is shut-in, the fluid separates into the gas water and hydrocarbons as the temperature decreases.  

These days, I am looking into this phenomena and associated problems in local gas industry in Qatar. I will keep you all posted about the latest developments and technologies on hydrates problem in all aspects. 

LNG faces yo-yo effect in supply and demand

The liquefied natural gas business faces many years of imbalance in supply and demand, a leading industry figure has warned.

BG North America senior vice-president Betsy Spomer said there could be an initial period of a few years when production outpaces demand, followed by a supply crunch, possibly starting in 2012.Ms Spomer said a surge in global LNG production capacity over the next three years was coming at a time of shaky demand and may encourage a buyer’s market in the product for a few years.

LNG supplies are forecast to rise 50% to 275m tonnes between 2009-2012, as new projects in Qatar, Indonesia, and Russia come on stream.Much of this will come from Qatar, which recently confirmed it was on track to double its capacity by 2011-2012 to 77m tonnes.

At the same time, expectations for the increase in short-term demand, particularly in the US, have been retreating.

For example, the US Energy Information Administration has this week again reduced its forecast for the nation’s 2009 LNG imports, this time to about 400bn cu ft from the prediction of 410bn cu ft a month ago. At the beginning of this year, the administration forecast that 2009 imports would reach 1,179bn cu ft.

Qatar plans to increase natural gas output to 77mn tons by 2012

Qatar expects to increase its liquefied natural gas (LNG) output capacity to 77mn tons a year by the end of 2012, Hammad Mubarak Al-Muhannadi, operations group manager at Rasgas said. Qatar has a new production line starting up next spring and another in autumn 2009. Train six will be producing LNG sometime between March and May next year, with another production line coming online next October. Al-Muhannadi added that the LNG market will grow slightly starting from next year. Qatar , the world's largest exporter of LNG, negotiates with Kuwait to supply it with LNG. Qatari LNG is produced mainly from state-owned Qatar Petroleum’s RasGas and Qatargas.