Adopting the innovative technology found in a compressor able to compress a mixture of natural gas and condensate has great potential for meeting future challenges in subsea oil and gas production. Benefits include reduced size, complexity and cost, enhanced well output, longer producing life and increased profits, which in turn offer opportunities for exploiting smaller oil and gas discoveries or extending the commercial life of existing fields. Introducing liquid into a centrifugal compressor creates several thermodynamic and fluid-mechanical challenges. The paper reviews some of the drive mechanisms involved in wet gas compression and views them in the context of the test results presented. An inlet guide vane (IGV) assembly has been installed in a test facility for wet gas compressors and the effect of wet gas on IGV performance documented. The impact of changes in IGV performance on impeller and diffuser has also been documented. The results have been discussed and correction methods compared.
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