Method to recover and process methane and condensates from flare gas systems

A method to recover and process associated gas from an oil-producing well to produce natural gas liquids (NGLs), cold compressed natural gas (CCNG), compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquid natural gas (LNG), the method comprising the steps of:

• capturing associated gas produced from a wellhead, the associated gas comprising at least methane, water, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) in vapor form;
• compressing the associated gas to produce a pressurized natural gas stream;
• passing the pressurized natural gas stream through a dewatering unit to remove at least a portion of the water;
• cooling the pressurized natural gas stream to produce a cooled rich natural gas stream in which at least a portion of the NGLs are condensed;
• separating the cooled rich natural gas stream into a gaseous natural gas stream and an NGL stream;
• processing the gaseous natural gas stream to produce a fuel gas stream, a compressed natural gas (CNG) stream, a cold compressed natural gas (CCNG) stream, and a liquid natural gas (LNG) stream, wherein:
• producing the LNG stream comprises passing a portion of the gaseous natural gas stream through a carbon dioxide stripping unit to produce a stripped feed stream;
• the fuel gas stream comprises a fuel gas portion of the gaseous natural gas stream that is conditioned to a pressure and temperature suitable for use by a power plant;
• the CNG stream comprises a CNG portion of the gaseous natural gas stream that is compressed to a pressure greater than the fuel gas stream;
• and
• the LNG stream and the CCNG stream are produced by:
• producing a partially condensed stripped gas stream by expanding the stripped feed stream from the carbon dioxide stripping unit to achieve cryogenic temperatures, and passing the partially condensed stripped gas stream through a separator to obtain the LNG stream and a cold natural gas stream;
• and
• compressing the cold natural gas stream to produce the CCNG stream.