Claims
- 1. In combination with a fixed offshore hydrocarbon production platform which comprises a deck attached to a base that is secured to the sea floor, the improvement comprising a GTL facility for converting natural gas into a hydrocarbon liquid which comprises:
a syngas reactor for converting the natural gas into syngas; and a liquids production unit for converting the syngas into the hydrocarbon liquid; wherein at least one of the syngas reactor and the liquids production unit comprises a catalyst which is constructed using PI micro-reactor technology; and wherein the GTL unit is sufficiently small to be located on the deck of the platform.
- 2. The combination of claim 1, further comprising a gas pre-processing unit for converting the natural gas into a form which is suitable for processing by the syngas reactor.
- 3. The combination of claim 2, wherein the gas pre-processing unit performs at least one of the following functions on the natural gas: filtering; desulphering and dehydrating.
- 4. The combination of claim 1, further comprising a hydrocracker unit for converting the hydrocarbon liquid into at least one hydrocarbon fuel.
- 5. The combination of claim 1, wherein the syngas reactor employs a steam reforming process to convert the natural gas into syngas.
- 6. The combination of claim 1, wherein the syngas reactor comprises a catalyst which is constructed using PI micro-reactor technology.
- 7. The combination of claim 6, wherein the catalyst comprises a reticulated ceramic foam catalyst.
- 8. The combination of claim 7, wherein the catalyst further comprises one or more metal oxides selected from the group consisting of chromium, cobalt and nickel.
- 9. The combination of claim 1, wherein the liquids production unit employs a Fisher-Tropsch process to convert the syngas to the hydrocarbon liquid.
- 10. The combination of claim 1 wherein the liquids production unit comprises a catalyst which is constructed using PI micro-reactor technology.
- 11. The combination of claim 9, wherein the catalyst comprises an inactive substrate having a plurality of channels formed therein.
- 12. The combination of claim 11, wherein the channels are coated with a Fisher-Tropsch catalyst.
- 13. A GTL facility for a fixed offshore hydrocarbon production platform which comprises a deck attached to a base that is secured to the sea floor, the GTL facility comprising:
a syngas reactor for converting natural gas from a subsea well into syngas; and a liquids production unit for converting the syngas into a hydrocarbon liquid; wherein the GTL unit is sufficiently small to be located on the deck of the platform.
- 14. The GTL facility of claim 13, wherein at least one of the syngas reactor and the liquids production unit comprises a catalyst which is constructed using PI micro-reactor technology.
- 15. The GTL facility of claim 14, wherein the syngas reactor comprises a reticulated ceramic foam catalyst.
- 16. The GTL facility of claim 15, wherein the catalyst further includes one or more metal oxides selected from the group consisting of chromium, cobalt and nickel.
- 17. The GTL facility of claim 14, wherein the liquids production unit comprises a which includes an inactive substrate having a plurality of channels formed therein.
- 18. The GTL facility of claim 14, wherein the channels are coated with a Fisher-Tropsch catalyst.
- 19. The GTL facility of claim 14, further comprising a gas pre-processing unit connected upstream of the syngas reactor for filtering, desulphering or dehydrating the natural gas.
- 20. The GTL facility of claim 14, further comprising a hydrocracker unit for converting the hydrocarbon liquid into at least one hydrocarbon fuel.
Parent Case Info
[0001] The present application is based on U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/398,742, which was filed on Jul. 26, 2002.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60398742 |
Jul 2002 |
US |