University of Alaska-Fairbanks to Study Liquids Made From Natural Gas

Study to help Determine if Liquids Can Be
Shipped Through TransAlaska Pipeline

Sometime in the next decade, if ongoing government-industry research is successful, vast quantities of untapped natural gas beneath Alaska's North Slope could be chemically transformed into liquids.

The goal is to use the Trans-Alaska Pipeline to ship these much-needed liquids to market. But will this mode of transportation be truly viable? And if so, what will be the best methods to move the gas-to-liquid products through the 800-mile long pipeline?

To begin answering these questions, the U.S. Department of Energy's Fossil Energy Program is awarding a $560,235 contract to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. The University will provide an additional $139,681.

As part of the 32-month study project, university researchers will examine different scenarios for gas-to-liquids transport through TAPS, using in many cases, actual gas-to-liquid products made in various experimental facilities. For example, the researchers will study whether the chemically-formed liquids can be commingled with naturally-produced crude oil, or whether they will have to be shipped through the pipeline in separate batches.

The researchers will examine the chemical make up and characteristics of various types of gas-to-liquid products that could be pumped through TAPS. They will study the flow behavior of these liquids and how the flow characteristics might change if gas-to-liquids are blended with crude oil. The research will involve the oil companies working on the North Slope as well as the operators of TAPS.

From these studies, the University will produce an overall technical and economic assessment of various options for transporting future gas-to-liquid products through the pipeline.

Converting North Slope gas to liquids is attracting increasing attention as a way to keep vital energy supplies flowing through TAPS even as conventional oil fields on the North Slope decline in future years. Current projections indicate that in about two decades oil flow could fall below the pipeline's 200,000-400,000 barrel-per-day economic threshold. If a viable gas-to-liquids industry could be established on the North Slope, pipeline operations could be extended by 25 years or more, and as many as 25,000 new jobs could be created in the State of Alaska.

The University's research project will be headed by Professor Vidyadhar A. Kamath of the Petroleum Engineering Department. The DOE Federal Energy Technology Center will oversee federal support for the effort.

- End of TechLine -

For more information, contact:
Hattie Wolfe, DOE Office of Fossil Energy, 202/586-6503, e-mail: hattie.wolfe@hq.doe.gov
Otis Mills, DOE Federal Energy Technology Center, 412/892-5890, e-mail: mills@fetc.doe.gov

Technical Contact: Daniel J. Driscoll, DOE Federal Energy Technology Center, 304/285-4717, e-mail: ddrisc@fetc.doe.gov