Chemical
According to the National Petroleum Institute, natural gas is the fuel of choice for the majority of the new electricity generating facilities and will fuel more than half of the new electricity generating capacity planned through 2011. In addition to its clean burning benefits, it is also primarily an American product. Natural gas is produced, transported and consumed in this country which provides both employment and commercial benefits.
MATE’s mechanical and process engineers and design staff have on average more than 35+ years experience providing engineering, design, consulting and project management services for the natural gas industry. Our services are client driven; whether a client needs equipment troubleshooting, a complete turn-key facility installation, or requires process specific support we have the capabilities and experience to fill the requirements.
Our staff project work experiences include: automation and controls projects, compressor and ancillary equipment installations, specifications and troubleshooting, yard and unit piping design, new electrical installations and rebuilds, specialty consulting, gas control panel mapping and compressor training. Specialty areas involve multi-discipline facilities design, instrumentation and control systems design, station, equipment and software integration automation, piping design and equipment specification.
Facility Capabilities
Our engineering group offers several areas of expertise in designing or operating compressor facilities and pipeline systems. Specific facility work has involved: Compressor stations, Production stations, M&R stations, Storage Facilities, Gas conditioning and dehydration, Town border stations, Pipeline pig launchers/receivers, Extraction and CO2 plants and Fluids handling. Some of this experience is detailed below.
Compressor Additions: We can assist planning efforts in identifying the required operating range for compressor stations and/or new compressors. This helps give the best use of installed horsepower and assures that the new installations will operate under all expected conditions. In addition, we have experience in applying analog pulsation studies to piping and compressor equipment, working with station piping design layout and sizing for optimum flow and reliability, while giving minimum pressure losses and installed cost.
Evaluation of Pipeline Liquids Problems: Our staff has performed work on several projects dealing with liquids production and removal in storage and production situations. These projects have ranged through pigging facilities, liquids removal (drips, slug catchers, filter/separators and dehydration units), drain systems and storage tanks. We have also assisted our partnering company NGInnovations with liquid disposal injection wells and desalinization method recovery systems.
Compressor/ Pipeline Modeling: If a client wishes to build a modeling facility, our staff is able to provide assistance in creating the modeling database to support the program. An accurate database is needed to provide high quality for predictions of station and pipeline capability. In turn, this will allow optimizing to minimize cost of operation. Our assistance can range from on-site data gathering on compressors and equipment through creation of the final model product.
Desalination Plants: MATE engineers have extensive experience with water plant facilities and waste treatment centers. Recent dramatic increases in Natural Gas drilling in our region has provided an opportunity for MATE to introduce some innovative water treatment methods and solutions to the gas industry. Much of the coal bed methane produced in our region yields brackish/saline water as a by-product of gas production. Many gas operators spend excess capital in hauling and disposing of the brackish water and are prohibited from discharge into streams and waterways due to the high Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) along with excessive chlorides, heavy metals, and other pollutants. MATE, in conjunction with NGI, has engineered an on-site mobile testing unit which combines filtration and reverse osmosis technology. This unit can identify site-specific pollutants and TDS levels, and allow the customized treatment solution specific to the particular region and area of gas production. NGI is currently constructing a 2400 bbl./day unit (100,000 gpd) unit which can be transported from our manufacturing facility to the treatment site. The water produced in our treatment units often exceed drinking water requirements.
The Marcellus shale gas discovery has also enabled our firm to innovate and engineer solutions to the water produced from gas drilling operations. The water produced during the drilling of the Marcellus shale gas drilling produces much higher concentrations of Total Dissolved Solids and other pollutants. MATE and NGI are pursuing innovative, energy-efficient evaporation techniques which can not only produce clean water, but also produce salt which can be used by the Department of Highways for desalting purposes.
Measurement & Regulations Installations: We have engineered M&R facilities ranging from small fuel supplies to 300MMscfd delivery points for turbine fuels, with turn down ratios above 10:1. Attention is also given to noise generation both in regulators and piping systems.
O&M Assistance: Over half of MATE’s senior engineers and project managers have individual professional experience of 35+ years in operation and maintenance areas. This experience has ranged from providing assistance and oversight on maintenance through maintenance programs, performing equipment failure analysis and instructing operator training. Their operations engineering support includes identifying process safety issues and troubleshooting analysis of station equipment and systems to minimize cost of operations.
Specialty Areas
Engineering & Design
- Design for compressor stations, storage, production, pipeline and M&R stations
- Assistance with station pulsation designs and studies for new equipment
- Electrical design and specification for new installations and rebuilds/additions
- Facilities design (structural, mechanical, process, electrical)
- Instrumentation & control system design
- Automation & control systems
- Piping & instrument diagram development
- Panel design & systems integration
- Equipment specification and selection
- Station ESD, gas and fire detection system design
- Age and condition replacement projects
- Equipment troubleshooting
- Consulting
Technical
- Overpressure protection evaluation and MAOP studies
- Compressor efficiency and optimization studies
- Pipeline modeling database development and support
- Compressor station operations manuals and training
- Process evaluation and studies
- Jacket water cooling, lubricating oil, air system and pipeline fluid process evaluations
- Station and equipment evaluation and troubleshooting
- Commissioning and start up
- Process Flow Diagram (PFD) development
- Process & Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID) development
- Power system modeling
Examples of Natural Gas Project Work
See detailed examples of projects in the natural gas industry carried out by MATE staff.