Sour Gas

Sour gas is natural gas or any other gas containing significant amounts of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). Natural gas is usually considered sour if there are more than 5.7 milligrams of H₂S per cubic meter of natural gas, which is equivalent to approximately 4 ppm by volume under standard temperature and pressure. However, this threshold varies by country, state, or even agency or application. For instance, the Texas Railroad Commission considers a sour gas pipeline one that carries gas over 100 ppm by volume of H₂S. However, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has historically defined sour gas for upstream operations – which requires permitting, reporting, and possibly additional emission controls – as gas that contains more than 24 ppm by volume. Natural gas that does not contain significant amounts of hydrogen sulfide is called "sweet gas."

Although the terms acid gas and sour gas are sometimes used interchangeably, strictly speaking, a sour gas is any gas that specifically contains hydrogen sulfide in significant amounts, whereas an acid gas is any gas that contains significant amounts of acidic gases such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) or hydrogen sulfide. Thus, carbon dioxide by itself is an acid gas, not a sour gas. In addition to being toxic, hydrogen sulfide in the presence of water also damages piping and other equipment handling sour gas by sulfide stress cracking. Natural gas can contain several ppm of volatile sulfur compounds, but gas from some wells have been known to contain 90% hydrogen sulfide.