Natural Gas

Dallas-based Synfuels International has been awarded a patent by the federal government for Process for Liquid Phase Hydrogenation. The technology, discovered at Texas A&M University and commercialized by Synfuels International, is the key to converting gas to ethylene and gasoline.

“The critical and unique component of the Synfuels gas to ethylene and gas to liquids processes which gives Synfuels its economic advantage is our Liquid Phase Hydrogenation,” says Synfuels International president Tom Rolfe. “No one else in the world comes close to the elegance of our design and the efficiency of its operation. We could not be more pleased that we have received this patent which both recognizes and protects our unique design.”

Synfuels processes are designed to be located upstream, in the field where gas can be converted efficiently, at its source, into an easily transportable gasoline product or an ethylene-based product.

The process produces roughly one barrel of gasoline for every 10,000 cubic feet of natural gas. It’s not economic for gas close to a market where it’s worth $11.53 per thousand cubic feet. But it will make economic sense for gas in remote oil fields, where the gas liquids can be mixed with oil and shipped in the same pipeline.

Synfuels has a pilot plant in Bryan, Texas, busy converting gas to gasoline.

Stay tuned. There is more in store with this story. It does represent a major step forward for the gas industry.

–John A. Sullivan, News Editor, Oil and Gas Investor, www.OilandGasInvestor.com, jsullivan@hartenergy.com

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