Insight
Sour gas and sulphur: rising volume, corroding value
Report summary
Sour gas is coming to the fore. IOCs are targeting a greater gas mix in their portfolios, meanwhile many NOCs are looking for strategic domestic supply. From the Middle East to Central Asia, the biggest and boldest upstream projects must deal with sour gas and its toxic hydrogen sulphide impurities – whether associated with oil or non-associated. Sour gas output will increase by over 50% in the next decade, supplying almost 10% of global gas and shaping sulphur's US$10 billion-a-year market. That excludes the growing volumes re-injected at oil megaprojects.
Table of contents
- Executive summary
- What is sour gas?
-
Where is sour gas?
- Middle East and Central Asia dominate the outlook
-
What are the development constraints?
- Technical: why is sour gas such an issue?
- Commercial: is there an investment case for IOCs?
- Strategic and corporate: are sour gas assets in the right hands?
- Sulphur: upstream's lesser-known product
-
The US$10 billion global sulphur market: five key takeaways
- 1) Oversupply is expected
- 2) China is the dominant market
- 3) Prices are volatile, but regional benchmarks are highly correlated
- 4) Non-China markets matter
- 5) Storage capacity is crucial swing factor
- Is it a golden age for sour gas?
Tables and charts
This report includes 8 images and tables including:
- Global sour gas reserves and resources (excluding Lower 48)
- Sulphur value chain: from sour gas to end product
- Kazakhstan: Tengizchevroil sulphur economics
- Gas sales from sour gas fields
- Sour gas project tracker: expected and planned start-ups
- Global sulphur exports
- China's sulphur imports – source countries
What's included
This report contains:
Other reports you may be interested in
25 September 2019
Sour gas could sour earnings for some Permian operators
Insight
Sour gas could sour earnings for some Permian operators
Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) is proving to be an expensive headache for some operators in the Permian, and there may be more trouble to come.
$1,35017 February 2021
UAE other fields (sub-commercial)
Asset Report
UAE other fields (sub-commercial)
Data on fields we currently classify as sub-commercial, and not part of existing concessions in the UAE are included in this report.
$3,10013 March 2019
Astrakhanskoye
Asset Report
Astrakhanskoye
Astrakhanskoye is a giant sour gas field located on the southwestern margin of the Precaspian Basin, on the Russian-Kazakh border. The ...
$3,100
