Evaluation of deep processing of Ethane for petrochemical production from domestic natural gas

Abstract

It is expected that a certain amount of natural gas from Nam Con Son Pipeline No. 2 (Stage 2) which will be received from various new gas fields (e.g. Thien Ung, Dai Hung, Su Tu Trang, Sao Vang, Dai Nguyet) and from an existing Nam Con Son Pipeline No. 1. Besides the current utilisations (e.g. for power generation and fertilizer production), the use of natural gas for petrochemical production have attracted more attention due to a value chain increase and for petrochemical development. In Vietnam, the fertilizer production from natural gas via methane value chain is only used. However, with an estimated capacity of 7-10 milion cubic meter per day (MMSCD) and the ethane concentration of 7-8%, the separation and processing of ethane (200-300 thousand ton per year) is one of potential solution for increasing the gas processing margin. In this study, therefore, an evaluation of ethane gas processing for petrochemical production was conducted based on various marketing, technical and economic aspects. The result revealed that high density polyethylene (HDPE) shows the best scenarios owing to high economic efficiency, well-known technology, high demand but lack of supply. The finding might provide a valuable strategy for deep processing of domestic gas.