Course Details

Objective

This course will start by defining what natural gas is, its properties, specifications and end uses.  Then, typical gas processing operations will be discussed, including dehydration, acid gas removal, recovery of ethane, propane and NGL (natural gas liquids), and liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations.  Sulfur recovery, tail gas conditioning and process control will also be discussed. Typical equipment and facilities that are found in typical natural gas processing operations will also be discussed including compressors, vessels, relief systems and safety systems. Finally, the fundamentals of gas transportation and distribution will be discussed.

TRAINING OBJECTIVES AND BENEFITS:

This short course is designed to give the attendants the fundamentals of natural gas conditioning and processing including some of the details of the process.  Specifically, by attending this course you will:

• Gain a deep knowledge of the properties, specifications and end uses of natural gas.
• Gain a deeper understanding of typical natural gas processing operations, including:
  • Dehydration
  • Acid gas removal
  • Recovery of ethane, propane and NGL (natural gas liquids)
  • Sulfur recovery

• Gain a deeper understanding of the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
• Gain a deeper knowledge of the different equipment and facilities found in natural gas processing plants.
• Learn about fundamentals of gas transportation and distribution.

Content

DAY 1

What is natural gas?

Origins

Properties

Specifications

End uses and markets for natural gas

Environmental advantages

Physical behavior of natural gas systems

Physical and thermal properties

Phase behavior analysis

• Pure substances
• The phase rule
• Behavior of mixtures
• Vaporization by gas pressure
• Molecular theory of gases and liquids
• Natural gases
• Density of natural gas
• Density of liquids
• Dense phase
• Surface tension
• Viscosity
• Thermal conductivity of gases
• Thermodynamic properties
• Sampling and analysis

DAY 2

Natural gas processing plant

• Flowsheet
• Equipment and components

Heat exchange in gas processing

• Heat transfer theory
  • Mechanisms of heat transfer
  • Process heat duty
• Heat exchangers types
  • Shell and tube
  • Double-pipe
  • Plate and frame
  • Aerial coolers
• Fired heaters
• Heat recovery units

DAY 3

Hydrates

• Determination of hydrate formation temperature or pressure
• Condensation of water vapor
• Temperature drop due to gas expansion
• Thermodynamic inhibitors
• Kinetic inhibitors and anti-agglomerators

Low temperature exchange (LTX) units and line heaters

• LTX units
• Line heaters
• Heat duty
• Fire-tube size
• Coil size
• Standard size line heaters

Condensate stabilization

• Partial pressure
• Multistage separation
• Multi flashes
• Cold feed distillation tower
• Distillation tower with reflux
• Condensate stabilizer design
• Trays and packing
• Condensate stabilizer as a gas processing plant
• LTX unit as a condensate stabilizer

DAY 4

Acid gas treating

• Gas sweetening processes
  • Solid bed absorption
  • Chemical solvents
  • Physical solvent processes
  • Direct conversion of H?S to sulfur
  • Sulfide scavengers
• Process selection
• Design procedure for iron-sponge units
• Design procedure for amine systems

Amine absorber

Amine circulation rates

Flash drum

Amine reboilers

Amine stripper

Rich/lean amine exchanger

Amine cooler

Amine solution purification

Materials of construction

Gas dehydration

• Water content determination
• Glycol dehydration
  • Process description
  • Choice of glycol
  • Design considerations
  • System sizing
• Solid bed dehydration

DAY 5

Gas processing

• Absorption/lean oil
• Refrigeration
• Choice of process

Compressors

• Types of compressors
• Specifying a compressor
• Reciprocating compressors process considerations

Mechanical design of pressure vessels

• Design considerations
• Inspection procedure
• Specification and design of pressure vessels

Pressure relief

• Relief requirements
• Type of devices
• Valve sizing
• Installation

Valves, fittings and piping details

Safety systems

• Hazard tree
• Developing a safe process
• Failure mode effect analysis (FMEA)
• API recommended practice 14C
• Manual emergency shutdown
• Hazard analysis
• Safety management systems

Gas transportation and distribution

NOTE:

• Pre & Post Tests will be conducted
• Case Studies, Group Exercises, Group Discussions, Last Day Review & Assessments will be carried out.

Methodology

A highly interactive combination of lectures and discussion sessions will be managed to maximize the amount and quality of information and knowledge transfer. The sessions will start by raising the most relevant questions, and motivate everybody find the right answers. You will also be encouraged to raise your own questions and to share in the development of the right answers using your own analysis and experiences.  Tests of multiple-choice type will be made available on daily basis to examine the effectiveness of delivering the course.

All presentations are made in excellent colorful power point. Very useful Course Materials will be given.

• 30% Lectures
• 30% Workshops and work presentation
• 20% Group Work& Practical Exercises
• 20% Videos& General Discussions