Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company

Exxon Production Research Company

John B Stone

Moses Minta

Ronald R Bowen

Eric D Nelson

E Lawrence Kimble

Peter C Rasmussen

Stanley O Uptigrove

Horace Gary Winningham

Raymond Scott Feist

George N Jones

Linda J Cote

Daniel J Hawrysz

Kevin N Stanley

Provided is a natural gas processing facility for the liquefaction or regasification of natural gas. The facility includes a primary processing unit, e.g., refrigeration unit, for warming natural gas or chilling natural gas to at least a temperature of liquefaction. The facility also has superconducting electrical components integrated into the facility. The superconducting electrical components incorporate superconducting material so as to improve electrical efficiency of the facility by at least one percent over what would be experienced through the use of conventional electrical components. The superconducting electrical components may be one or more motors, one or more generators, one or more transformers, switch gears, one or more electrical transmission conductors, variable speed drives, or combinations thereof.

Superconducting system for enhanced natural gas production

The described invention relates to processes and systems for treating a gas stream, particularly one rich in methane for forming liquefied natural gas (LNG), the process including: (a) providing a gas stream; (b) providing a refrigerant; (c) compressing the refrigerant to provide a compressed refrigerant; (d) cooling the compressed refrigerant by indirect heat exchange with a cooling fluid; (e) expanding the refrigerant of (d) to cool the refrigerant, thereby producing an expanded, cooled refrigerant; (f) passing the expanded, cooled refrigerant to a first heat exchange area; (g) compressing the gas stream of (a) to a pressure of from greater than or equal to 1,000 psia to less than or equal to 4,500 psia; (h) cooling the compressed gas stream by indirect heat exchange with an external cooling fluid; and heat exchanging the compressed gas stream with the expanded, cooled refrigerant stream.

Natural gas liquefaction processes with feed gas refrigerant cooling loops

A process for removing hydrocarbons less volatile than methane from a pressurized liquid natural gas (PLNG). PLNG is heated in a heat exchanger, thereby vaporizing at least a portion of the PLNG. The partially vaporized PLNG is passed to a fractionation column. A liquid stream enriched with hydrocarbons (C or C ) less volatile than methane is withdrawn from a lower portion of the fractionation column and a vapor stream lean in the hydrocarbons less volatile than methane is withdrawn from an upper portion of the fractionation column. The withdrawn vapor stream is passed to the heat exchanger to condense the vapor to produce PLNG lean in hydrocarbons less volatile than methane.

Process for NGL recovery from pressurized liquid natural gas

This invention relates to process for liquefying a pressurized gas stream rich in methane. In a first step of the process, a first fraction of a pressurized feed stream, preferably at a pressure above 11,000 kPa, is withdrawn and entropically expanded to a lower pressure to cool and at least partially liquefy the withdrawn first fraction. A second fraction of the feed stream is cooled by indirect heat exchange with the expanded first fraction. The second fraction is subsequently expanded to a lower pressure, thereby at least partially liquefying the second fraction of the pressurized gas stream. The liquefied second fraction is withdrawn from the process as a pressurized product stream having a temperature above &minus;112&deg; C. and a pressure at or above its bubble point pressure.

Process for making pressurized liquefied natural gas from pressured natural gas using expansion cooling

A process is disclosed for producing from a pressurized methane-rich gas stream a pressurized methane-rich liquid stream having a temperature above &minus;112&deg; C. (&minus;170&deg; F.) and having a pressure sufficient for the liquid to be at or below its bubble point. In this process, a methane-rich liquid stream having a temperature below about &minus;155&deg; C. (&minus;247&deg; F.) is supplied and its pressure is increased. A pressurized methane-rich gas to be liquefied is supplied and introduced to the pressurized methane-rich liquid stream at a rate that produces a methane-rich liquid stream having a temperature above &minus;112&deg; C. (&minus;170&deg; F.) and a pressure sufficient for the liquid to be at or below its bubble point.

Process for producing a pressurized methane-rich liquid from a methane-rich gas

A process for obtaining ethane and propane refrigerant from a lean feed gas is disclosed. Said process involves the addition of a small amount of propane to a stream of said lean feed gas, thus widening the phase envelope and increasing the ease of separation of the methane and nitrogen from heavier components.

Growing community of inventors

Kingwood, TX, United States of America

John B Stone