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Natural Gas as aChemical Industry Fueland Feedstock:Past, Present, Future
(and Far Future)Jeffrey J. Siirola
Eastman Chemical CompanyKingsport, TN 37662
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Fuel and FeedstockNatural gas is the fuel that powers most (but not quite all)US chemical and refining processes
Natural gas methane is the feedstock for hydrogenproduction (for hydrocracking, hydrodesulfurization, andammonia) and for syngas (for methanol, and its
derivatives e.g. MTBE, formaldehyde, and acetic acid)
Natural gas condensate (ethane and propane) is an
advantaged raw material via ethylene and propylene tomuch of the organic chemicals industry (compared tocrude-oil-derived naphtha)
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Feedstock Pricing ConsiderationsCrude Oil Global supply and demand Established oceanic transportation network
Productive capacity and risk premium Impact of speculation
Natural Gas Local supply and demand Transportation limitations Limited US conventional supply New shale gas production technology
Coal Excess productive capacity Inexpensive extraction technologies Environmental impact issues
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US Crude Oil Price
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US Natural Gas Price
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US Natural Gas Consumption
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Recent Past(Last Decade)
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US Electricity Production by Fuel
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Power Plant Natural Gas Consumption
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US Fossil Fuel Price
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Industrial Natural Gas Consumption
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Impacts of Increasing Natural GasPricesChemicals from methane Methanol production moves offshore to sources of stranded gas MTBE abandoned as gasoline oxygenate Ammonia moves to Canada
Hydrogen becomes expensive (and low-sulfur diesel at the pumpbecomes more expensive than regular gasoline)
Chemicals from condensate and naphtha
Condensate price rises with natural gas (for awhile) Ethylene price spikes Propylene price finally rises higher than ethylene
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Eastman ResponseShut down older cracker capacityAbandon some ethylene derivatives (polyethylene) and
seek C 1 routes to others (ethylene glycol, acetaldehyde)as previously done for acetic acid/anhydride)Abandon polypropylene
Seek C 1 routes to propylene (MTP) for existing oxoderivatives and other intermediates currently made frompropylene (acrylics, methacrylics, acetone, etc)Developed process for the large-scale gasification ofpetcoke, lignite, or coal as source of syngas for C 1chemistries and refinery hydrogen
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Other ResponsesFlight to off-shore production (to sources of strandedmethane and condensate Persian Gulf)
Bio-based feedstocks (ethylene from sugar-basedbioethanol dehydration - Brazil)Feedstocks from coal gasification and liquefaction(China)Calls for increased US LNG infrastructureDevelopment of directional and horizontal drilling andhydraulic fracturing technologies (Shale Gas)
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Feedstock Substitution ChallengesCapital
Extra steps required to employ alternate feedstocks are
often very capital-intensive Solids (coal and biomass) handling Low bulk density solids transportation Pyrolysis
Gasification Air separation Fischer-Tropsch reaction Direct liquefaction
Capital costs follow average energy prices (after a lag)
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Feedstock Substitution ChallengesEnergy
As methane, condensate, and light crude become depleted, feedstocksfor both transportation fuels and chemicals will become heavier andhigher oxidation stateHydrogen will be required to reduce these feedstocks
If derived as at present from steam reforming, will result in significantadditional carbon dioxide production
Unless derived from solar or nuclear water-splittingProcesses will become net endothermicReaction energy and separation/purification energy both to be suppliedfrom utilities
Process industries become much more energy-intensiveGreater role for heat integration, multi-effect operation, low-energyseparations, process intensification technologies, etc.
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Present(Last Few Years)
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Crude Oil and Natural Gas Prices
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Ratio of Crude Oil Price ($/bbl) toNatural Gas Price ($/MBTU)
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Shale GasUnconventional natural gas (as is coalbed methane, tightsandstone gas, and methane hydrates)
Found in relatively thin shale formations of very lowpermeabilityEconomic production enabled by two technological
innovations: Directional drilling Hydraulic fracturing
Technology and field development encouraged by highnatural gas prices
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Geology of Natural Gas Resources
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US Shale Gas Plays
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Shale Gas ImpactShale gas now reclassified as conventional gasUS conventional gas reserves doubled
Price of natural gas halved
Accelerate electric power fuel switching from coal to
natural gasKilled proposed Eastman gasification projectRestored US production of methanol and ammonia
Condensate crackers restartedRestored advantaged US feedstock position for manyorganic chemicals
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Near Future
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What is Likely to HappenNatural gas replacement for coal as the primary earlycarbon management technique (source reduction)
Increased deployment of highly efficient Natural GasCombined Cycle plants for electricity production andchemical plant cogeneration
Increased US production and export of chemicalsdecreasing the trade deficitFor many intermediates, interesting competition betweenC1 (methane) and C 2 (ethane) feedstocks resulting fromadvances in catalysis, energy efficiency, and processdesign optimization
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For How Long?Depends on how long shale gas remains plentiful andwhether it is wet or dry
If plentiful and wet, then the existing US ethane-basedchemical industry infrastructure will remain world-
competitiveIf plentiful but dry, new C 1 chemistries will emerge, butbased on methane steam reforming syngasIf oil shale is developed using directional drilling andhydraulic fracturing gas shale technology, the role fornaphtha cracking infrastructure may be extended
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Far Future
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What could go Wrong?Electricity power plant fuel switching could dominate therate of shale gas development
Amount of gas producible from shale formations might beless than predictedAdditional shale formations might be more expensive to
produce than first experiences suggestSome shale formations might be geologicallyinappropriate for development (e.g. shallow formationsnear groundwater supplies)Production technologies (especially hydraulic fracturing)might have unintended environmental consequencesleading to political or regulatory restrictions
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Then What?If a great deal of infrastructure is put in place to displacecoal by natural gas for electricity production and for
institutional and industrial boilers and to otherwiseexpand the use of methane for chemical production,But natural gas becomes less economically advantagedcompared to coal
Then coal gasification may once again return,But if so, most likely only to make Synthetic Natural Gas(SNG)!
With the corresponding carbon dioxide captured and sequestered
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Thank You