Patent ID: 8138381

Claim:
A process for recovering a natural gas contaminated with high levels of CO 2 and converting the natural gas into methanol, comprising: a) extracting a gas comprising carbon dioxide and methane from a reservoir containing natural gas, where carbon dioxide comprises greater than 40 vol. % of the extracted gas; b) scrubbing the extracted gas with a wash effective to produce a washed extracted gas containing less carbon dioxide than the extracted gas and to produce a carbon dioxide contaminated wash product, where the washed extracted gas contains at least 20 vol. % carbon dioxide and where the carbon dioxide contaminated wash product contains more carbon dioxide than the wash; c) oxidizing the washed extracted gas with an oxygen containing gas in the presence of a partial oxidation catalyst at a temperature of 900° C. or less to produce an oxidation product gas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, where the molar ratio of oxygen from the oxygen containing gas to carbon from the hydrocarbons in the extracted gas is less than one; d) optionally contacting the oxidation product gas with steam and a water-gas shift catalyst at a temperature of from 200° C. to 400° C. and a pressure of from 0.1 MPa to 15 MPa to produce a water-gas shifted oxidation product gas; e) contacting the oxidation product gas or the water-gas shifted oxidation product gas with a methanol synthesis catalyst at a temperature of from 200° C. to 300° C. and a pressure of from 5 MPa to 15 MPa to produce a methanol product gas comprising methanol and carbon dioxide; and f) separating a first liquid methanol product from the methanol product gas.