Chemical
Compressor & Storage Station Installations & Additions
Storage Case Study - To meet growing energy needs of customers in the mid-Atlantic region, a client needed to install a new natural gas compressor station and storage field in West Virginia. This project involved looping four segments of 24” pipeline in Virginia’s Page, Greene, Louisa, Shenandoah and Rockingham counties and performing upgrades to several M&R facilities. The project required engineering and design for electrical, instrumentation, civil and piping, equipment specification, P&ID development and procurement of all project materials. Specific detailed piping design work included design of the compressor station main gas and auxiliary piping, two harp separators, detailed piping drawings for the two new storage fields including wellhead tie-ins, launchers/receivers, valve settings and drips. Specific civil work involved: designing all site buildings, developing the site layout for the equipment, buildings, tankage, unloading stations, roadways, cable trays and pipe racks, as well as site grading work to determine all the cuts and fills for the new station. Building design included: the compressor building with full basement that housed the two 3550 HP single/two stage reciprocating compressors; the auxiliary building complete with an office and lunchroom, instrument room, motor control center, shop area and air compressor room; the regulator building, a dehydration and controls building, a gas chromatograph building and a methanol system building. Additionally, automation and systems integration was also provided for the complete station HMI system configuration.
Storage Case Study - Major grassroots storage compressor station installation for a $300 million pipeline expansion. This project involved engineering, design, equipment evaluation and specification for the following: dehydration units (dry bed versus glycol), slug catchers, degassing and holding systems, gas heaters, cleaners and flare system, as well as material procurement for a peak storage facility consisting of one 4725 HP Caterpillar/Ariel compressor unit, regulation, gas cleaning & conditioning, heating, dehydration, measurement & regulation and related support facilities. The facility was designed for future expansion and to provide for storage and withdrawal capability of up to 300 MMscfd, with a pipeline maximum operating pressure of 1000 psig and initial field design pressure of 2650 psig. Noise limits for the design were challenging and required special attention to fans, regulators and other noise sources. Additionally, emission regulations for the station were very stringent, with all normal hydrocarbon vent sources being captured and flared. Station layout was optimized to decrease grading and disposal costs. Facilitated Southwest Research Institute (SWRI) pulsation analysis of compressor unit and of the piping system.
Gas Driven Reciprocating Compressor Installation - This project was for an addition to an existing compressor station in Pennsylvania. The project involved the installation of one 3,400 HP Caterpillar gas driven engine driving an Ariel reciprocating compressor unit and the associated facilities necessary for the support of this unit. This transmission application included tie-ins to the existing header system for three operation modes. The project included of new and used fluids storage, a blowdown silencer, gas detection, electrical MCC building and an ESD system, as well as a cable tray system for primary connection to the station power supply. The ESD system for the new equipment and integrating into the existing system. This project required close attention to layout due to the limited space for additions.
Dual Turbine Compressor Installations - Grassroots construction of a mainline transmission compressor station containing two 10K HP Solar Taurus turbines for a total station horsepower of 20,620. This station was more complex than usual, as the compressors can operate individually, in parallel or in series. Piping and controls had to be designed to allow for the switching modes without surging or backflow and to equalize the load when operating both units. The station also required full automation and controls systems and was additionally equipped with discharge gas cooling. The project involved engineering, design, procurement, and construction inspection. The site plan was arranged to facilitate future plant expansion and layout took into account the potential for future compressors and cooler capacity. Main header piping layout, air inlet and exhaust and building locations were arranged to allow the future expansion to be easily accommodated without convoluted pipe tie-ins or relocation of existing piping headers, utilities or buildings. In addition to the two Taurus units, the project included: a main compressor building, ancillary buildings to support and maintain site equipment, discharge gas cooling, an electrical substation, power wiring & instrumentation, a standby generator, an ESD system, gas and fire detection systems and piping systems.
Turbine Compressor Station Installation Case Studies - A client required engineering, design, drafting and material specifications to replace existing compressors at two separate compressor stations in North Carolina. The project called for two 1960’s vintage Solar Saturn compressors and one 1980’s Solar Saturn compressor to be replaced with new Solar Saturn 1600 HP compressors. Each station was designed with potential for the future installation of three turbine compressors. This project was challenging as design had to allow for continuing operation of existing units during construction of the new facility. Project deliverables are listed below by group discipline:
- The process/mechanical group provided a complete Basic Process Package (BPP) which included: a process description, design basis, PFD’s for auxiliary, main and fuel gas, P&ID’s for auxiliary, main and fuel gas, equipment specifications, line list, instrument control sheets, instrument and equipment lists, and minor equipment specifications. The group also specified the main gas cooler, horizontal filter separator, fuel gas heater, pipeline fluids tank and station air system. Work also included equipment and piping layout to optimize site access and piping flow patterns.
- The civil & structural group completed a site survey at each station to establish the elevations and benchmark locations. They also specified the compressor and control buildings and provide civil drawings for buildings, building and equipment foundations, structural steel supports for equipment and cable trays and pipe supports.
- The piping group provided piping drawings (including site plans, area plans and sections & details) for the main gas, fuel gas and auxiliary piping and also provided material lists, used to procure material.
- The electrical & instrumentation group provided the following electrical drawings: a drawing list, a hazardous area classification, grounding plan, cable tray and conduit routing & installation details, instrument list, interconnection diagrams and conduit & wire schedule. They will specify all electrical components, operators for valves, and the station back-up generator, as well as provided control schematics for motor control center and the control system.
- The automation group provided automation complete HMI configuration and systems integration, as well as on-site start-up and commissioning.
Transmission & Storage Case Study - Engineering and design for a new compressor and storage facility that involved specification, selection and installation of two new 4500 HP electric motor-driven reciprocating compressors, a new compressor building, unit piping, yard piping, new oil tank, new fire valves, yard lighting, four cooling structures, new horizontal coalescing filter/separator and new interstage separators. Each of the two-stage single speed compressor units provided simultaneous functionality for transmission and storage service with a capacity of 25 - 180 MMscfd. Additionally, capacity control was accomplished by unloading pockets, cylinder deactivation and on-line cylinder configuration changes. The station automation and HMI system supported 26 modes of operation. Design of the capacity control system avoided the requirement for variable speed drives on the main units, reducing installed cost of the station by more than one million dollars.
Amines Facility Installation Case Study - This CO2 plant expansion replaced an existing small amines plant with a new, larger and more efficient facility to increase plant capacity and capabilities in the removal of CO2 from the gas stream. The expansion was necessary due to an increase in CO2 in some of the coal mine methane and the requirement that the station operate at the maximum design rate of 100,000,000 cubic feet per day. New facility included seven new equipment skids, two new processing columns, two air coolers, a hot oil heater and a new MCC. In addition to civil/structural, piping and electrical design, the client required project management support and field construction support. This project was on an aggressive schedule and was installed in a very tight and limiting area.
Amines Facility Installation Case Study - Another typical tight schedule-driven coal bed methane project was required to increase a client’s facility capacity from 20 mmscfd to 30 mmscfd. MATE’s core engineering staff handled the electrical, civil and piping design and specification of the filter separators, air compressors and tankage for this project to install a new 1750 HP gas engine/reciprocating compressor. Additional work performed included handling all procurement activities and supplementing project management during the construction phase. In addition to the compressor unit, this facility included installation of the following new equipment: four equipment skids, eight processing columns, two air coolers, a reboiler, five storage tanks and an MCC.
Case Study and Automation Addition - Compressor station installation of a 4000 HP electric motor-driven compressor unit and all associated ancillary equipment buildings including: new compressor building, new auxiliary building, new gas cooler, new filter/separator. The state of the art, fully automated addition also included Bristol Babcock PLC control equipment and Intellusion FIX operator interface.
Production Stations
The MATE staff has numerous past experiences in production station engineering, design and additions. This production station compressor installation project to install two 1500 HP electric motor driven reciprocating compressors to an existing field booster station. The design included piping additions, a new compressor building elevated above the flood plain, gas and fire detection, a new Motor Control Center building and a new primary transformer.
Another installation project involved the engineering, design and specification of a 1500 HP motor driven reciprocating compressor with gas cooling, main and MCC buildings, primary transformer setting, dehydration equipment, inlet filter separator, inlet regulation, check measurement and TEG and condensate tanks.
An additional production station compressor installation included engineering and design for a 3000 HP motor driven reciprocating compressor with gas cooling, main and MCC buildings, primary transformer setting, dehydration equipment, inlet strainer, inlet regulation, check measurement and TEG and condensate tanks.
Electrical Projects
Compressor station rebuild and electrical system replacement of all conduit, wiring, equipment and supporting facilities. Project work included design of a new 40’x 60’ auxiliary building for office space and installation of the new equipment (69 KV substation, 5 KV switchgear, 480 V and 208 V MCC’s, 5 KV x 480 Vac transformer and 150 KW emergency generator). In addition to the compressor station proper, the project included conduit, wiring, foundation, steel and cable tray design for the existing gas conditioning, dehydration and M&R facilities.
Fluids Handling & Gas Conditioning
A client was in need of safety improvement projects at two separate compressor stations. Both stations were plagued with fluids collection and disposal issues and liquid slugs were upsetting the facility operation. MATE’s staff was asked to provide a design and engineering of instrumentation and equipment that would allow the station to operate with fluids handling as a normal and daily part of the operation. These safety improvement projects provided for high liquid level alarms on the gas separators and dehydration equipment, reboiler piping changes, an automated contactor by-pass piping, pressure transmitters on the two reboiler tanks, repair and automation of the dump systems and an upgrade to the Bristol station master processor. Both stations pump to a 2700 psi storage field which also received 36” ANSI 1500 rated harp separators. The client also required a detailed design package (for each station) with piping, equipment and instrumentation specifications and drawings to utilize for procurement and during the installation phases.
Gas storage station was experiencing high levels of maintenance with existing compressors, originally installed in 1913. The compressors were experiencing loss of packing and seals, mechanical part wear and failure and all spare parts had to be manufactured individually at a premium cost. On-site investigation and troubleshooting determined that entrance of fluids, sand and grit were primary causes of the operating problems. Proposed upgrades were to modify the existing oil bath scrubber, purchase a new filter separator (designed for up to 336 MM SCF per day) and install clean out ports to both East and West slug catcher.
Automation Projects
Automation, control and safety equipment installation for a compressor station to permit local operating personnel to operate the station year-round using a single 40-hour per week shift (previous operation was 24/7 daily). This project required remote start/control of the five compressor units and set point pressure control of the Becker flow control valve and the solo regulator. In addition, new gas and fire detection equipment was installed in the compressor building to protect the facilities during periods of manned and unmanned operation. The compressor units were designed with computer-based control systems to continuously monitor operating parameters and for unit automatic shut-down during alarm occurrences.
A second automation project called for the same installation as above, but also required discharge pressure setpoint control so that the station bypass valve actuators would open automatically if all five compressor units were off-line.