Natural-gas processing Natural-gas processing Natural-gas processing is a complex industrial process designed to clean raw natural gas by separating impurities and various non-methane hydrocarbons and fluids to produce what is known as "pipeline quality" dry natural gas. Natural-gas processing begins at the well head. The composition of the raw natural gas extracted from producing wells depends on the type, depth, and location of the underground deposit and the geology of the area. Oil and natural gas are often found together in the same reservoir. The natural gas produced from oil wells is generally classified as "associated-dissolved", meaning that the natural gas is
Natural-gas processing of three types of wells: crude oil wells, gas wells, and condensate wells. Natural gas that comes from crude oil wells is typically called "associated gas". This gas can have existed as a gas cap above the crude oil in the underground formation, or could have been dissolved in the crude oil. Natural gas from gas wells and from condensate wells, in which there is little or no crude oil, is called "non-associated gas". Gas wells typically produce only raw natural gas, while condensate wells produce raw natural gas along with other low molecular weight hydrocarbons. Those that are liquid