BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.19. There is plenty of room for further penetration of natural gas in the petrochemical sector, with natural gas used as a feedstock to make higher value-added products, Trend reports referring to the analysis published by the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).
GECF says its member countries, endowed with the world's largest proven natural gas reserves, have a prominent potential to monetise their natural gas resources through developing higher value-added petrochemical products.
“Petrochemical products have become ubiquitous and irreplaceable in modern society, with a plethora of industrial and consumer goods applications. These include fuels, fertilisers, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics, and packaging. China, United States, and Middle East are driving the growth in the petrochemical industry,” reads the report.
Petrochemical manufacture commences with raw material feedstock, mainly hydrocarbons.
“The building blocks for petrochemicals can be derived from crude oil, coal, and natural gas and other associated petroleum gases and liquids, through different specialised processes. In the case of crude oil, the process of refining is used to obtain chemicals such as naphtha. The process of coal gasification has been extremely popular in countries such as China, which possesses vast reserves of coal. With respect to natural gas, feedstock for petrochemicals exists as the primary gaseous component, methane, as well as other light hydrocarbon components such as ethane, propane, butane, and pentanes (NGLs). The major primary pathway for natural gas in the petrochemical industry is the production of methanol and ammonia,” GECF says.
Consumption of natural gas as a chemical feedstock represents a small fraction of the total gas consumption, averaging around 6 percent. However, the sector has shown a significant growth, increasing 35 percent overall since 2010 to 2021 to reach 230 bcm. In comparison, consumption of oil and coal as a chemical feedstock accounts for 10 percent and 2 percent of their respective total consumption. In addition, consumption of NGLs as a chemical feedstock accounts for 25 percent of their total consumption.
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