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Solutions for complexity and cost challenges
As gas exploration moves into increasingly difficult locations (e.g. ultra-deep water), reservoirs (e.g. contaminated gases containing CO2, H2S, mercaptans, etc.) and resources (e.g. tight gas, gas shale, gas hydrates), operators need more innovative and effective ways to manage complexity and costs while minimising their environmental footprint.
Smarter approaches are needed to remove contaminants, reduce emissions, and meet ever more stringent product specifications, while maximising productivity and minimising total lifecycle costs.
With more than 480 acid gas removal third-party reference sites, and more than 210 sulphur recovery third-party reference sites, Shell has extensive experience providing solutions in complex projects that gas processing and gas treating can present. The Group has been licensing technologies to deal with sour gas to third parties for more than 50 years.
Early success in sour gas treating technology was achieved in the 1950s, with the introduction of the ADIP process; this was followed by the development of Sulfinol in the 1960s. In both the ADIP and Sulfinol processes, an amine-based solution is used to capture and remove hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide from natural gas, refinery gases and synthetic gas; Sulfinol also removes carbonyl sulphide and mercaptans. Continued research and development of the ADIP process led to the use of MDEA solvent; an accelerator was introduced later, to create ADIP-X.
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