Why is it called Y-grade?
The story is that Y-grade got its name from an old Texas pipeline company that assigned different letters to the various products that they shipped. Y-grade was the designation for the natural gas liquids mix.
What is Y-grade propane?
Y-Grade, also called mixed NGLs or ‘raw make’ is an unfractionated blend of the various purity products (see definition below) that make up the NGL product family. In the U.S. the term includes propane, normal butane and isobutane and is often associated with refinery production and demand for these products.
What is a Hgl pipeline?
This web map displays Energy Information Administration (EIA) hydrocarbon gas liquids pipelines (HGL) within the United States. Most of the HGL produced in the United States is transported in pipelines from where they are produced to places where they are used or to places where they are stored for distribution.
What is the difference between condensate and natural gasoline?
A typical ‘natural gas liquids’ breakdown would be about 83% gaseous liquids, and 17% natural gasoline (it varies, and can be as much as 22%). Condensate refers to a specific portion of the ‘Natural Gas Liquids’. It is more usually referred to as ‘lease condensate’.
What is C2 gas?
Ethane (C2) – heavily used as a feedstock to produce ethylene. Pentanes or Natural gasoline (C5-C9) – used as a fuel additive and blended with regular gasoline as well as a petrochemical feedstock.
Is condensate the same as naphtha?
Condensate is mostly composed of NGLs and naphtha range material, and has an API from 45 to 70+. Condensate is typically valued lower than crude oil because of its high light ends content, which yields a lot of lower value LPGs and light naphtha and makes it difficult to process in high volumes in a refinery.
What is hydraulic grade line?
The surface or profile of water flowing in an open channel or a pipe flowing partially full. If a pipe is under pressure, the hydraulic grade line is that level water would rise to in a small, vertical tube connected to the pipe.
What are liquid hydrocarbons?
What are hydrocarbon gas liquids? Hydrocarbons are molecules of carbon and hydrogen in various combinations. Hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs) are hydrocarbons that occur as gases at atmospheric pressure and as liquids under higher pressures. HGLs can also be liquefied by cooling.
What is Dilbit made of?
What is dilbit? Dilbit stands for diluted bitumen. Bitumen is a kind of crude oil found in natural oil sands deposits—it’s the heaviest crude oil used today. The oil sands, also known as tar sands, contain a mixture of sand, water, and oily bitumen.
What do you do with Y grade gas?
Some companies utilize methods designed for transporting liquefied natural gas ( LNG ); however, most natural gas and crude oil producers simply inject Y-grade back into drill sites until they have an economical means of transporting or fractionating it. Relief is coming, according to recent industry news.
Is there a market for Y grade gas?
In its natural state, Y-grade has no dedicated market or known use. It must undergo processing before its true value is realized. Fractionation yields varying amounts of NGL—ethane (C 2 ), propane (C 3 ), isobutane (IC 4 ), butane (NC 4) and natural gasoline (C 5 +)—and each have their own uses and dedicated markets.
What happens during the Y grade to NGL lifecycle?
Overview of the Y-grade-to-NGL lifecycle for a single Y-grade purchase. Sample testing occurs throughout the processing, transport and fractionation of every batch of Y-grade, until end products are delivered. These readings amount to a constant stream of information that must be properly tracked and recorded.
Can a company profit from Y grade purity?
Y-grade, or raw mix, provides an excellent opportunity for companies to profit by fractionating and selling Y-grade purity products, but the path to success is an arduous one.