Economic evaluation and market analysis for natural gas utilization. Topical report

During the past decade, the U.S. has experienced a surplus gas supply. Future prospects are brightening because of increased estimates of the potential size of undiscovered gas reserves. At the same time, U.S. oil reserves and production have steadily declined, while oil imports have steadily increased. Reducing volume growth of crude oil imports was a key objective of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Natural gas could be an important alternative energy source to liquid products derived from crude oil to help meet market demand. The purpose of this study was to (1) analyze three energy markets to determine whether greater use could be made of natural gas or its derivatives and (2) determine whether those products could be provided on an economically competitive basis. The following three markets were targeted for possible increases in gas use: transportation fuels, power generation, and chemical feedstock. Gas-derived products that could potentially compete in these three markets were identified, and the economics of the processes for producing those products were evaluated. The processes considered covered the range from commercial to those in early stages of process development. The analysis also evaluated the use of both high-quality natural gas and lower-quality gases containing CO{sub 2} and N{sub 2} levels above normal pipeline quality standards.