Monetizing US Natural Gas

Over the last several years Bechtel has experienced a dramatic increase in project opportunities that will convert low-cost, abundant North American natural gas and gas liquids into a wide variety of products.   We are currently performing studies and projects that will export LNG, produce ethylene and other petrochemicals, make ammonia-based fertilizers, produce methanol and methanol derivatives, and make gasoline and other transportation fuels.  As one of the largest engineering and construction firms, Bechtel has the ability to take on these large, complex projects.  Having performed the work, we are now in a good position to understand the relative costs and economics of the options.

This paper shares the results of a large, in-house gas monetization study just completed by Bechtel Hydrocarbon Technology Solutions, Inc., who are the front-end and technology-focused arm of Bechtel’s oil and gas business.  For this study, BHTS created conceptual designs for each option, along with detailed capital costs estimates using a combination of recent in-house data and public-domain sources.  The study and this paper evaluate the basic designs and the economics of each option across a range of relevant feed and product prices.