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ABSTRACT
Natural gas as a raw material is produced in large quantities in oil and gas wells either as
associated gas (AG) or as non-associated gas (NAG). In Nigeria, lack of effective transmission
and distribution systems results in a greater percentage of this energy source being flared,
thereby resulting in loss of foreign exchange to the country.
In an attempt to curtail this colossal waste of energy and valuable raw material, the Federal
Government of Nigeria passed a law on prohibition of gas flaring. This yielded little or no result
since the oil producing companies found it more convenient and economical to flare the
produced gases rather than monetization.
Recently, a pipeline network for natural gas
transmission and distribution for Owerri city, Imo state was designed using industry simulation
software, PIPEPHASETM.
In this research work, a natural gas gathering/processing and transmission system has been
similarly designed for Benin City in order to minimize gas flaring and take advantage of clean
energy source. A number of designs were considered particularly for different pipe sizes and
network patterns. The downstream pressure was estimated using the NetBeans IDE at a
particular delivery location and verified using the pressure obtained from the downstream
pressure calculator. The effect of pipe elevation on pressure regime was also considered.
In the light of above, given the different design patterns, two-parallel-piping connection was
recommended as the optimal design for delivering the processed natural gas streams to various
locations in Benin City from gas hitherto flared in a field near Benin.