Associated Petroleum Gas

What Does Associated Petroleum Gas Mean?

Associated petroleum gas, also known as flare gas, filed gas or wet gas, is a naturally occurring gas dissolved in crude oil and found in oil reservoirs. It is a byproduct of the production of crude oil. Trenchless methods of drilling in rocks using oil rigs are utilized to extract crude oil to the surface, which is then processed to remove associated gas before crude oil can be transported.

Trenchlesspedia Explains Associated Petroleum Gas

Associated gas is considered as an undesirable byproduct that needs to be vented, flared or re-injected. The gas consists of light hydrocarbons from methane, ethane, propane, butane etc. Before crude oil can conform to applied standards, it has to be freed from associated gas. This gas is commonly vented or burnt into the atmosphere. Since burning is considered to be harmful to the environment, solutions are being made to convert associated gas into synthetic crude oil.

Synthetic crude is a stable product that combines well with mineral crude that can be upgraded to motor fuels containing no sulfur or aromatics. Synthetic crude can be produced from associated gas at the production site making it economically beneficial.