Re-injecting gases: TURBOCOMPRESSORS FIND NEW APPLICATIONS EVEN AS TRADITIONAL DUTIES DRIVE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES

摘要

With global natural gas production set to double by 2030 from 2.69 trillion m3 to 5.15 trillion m{sup}3, the venerable turbocompressor is becoming more important than ever in the global gas supply system. To cater to this growing market, developments in turbocompressor design and manufacturing are improving efficiency and reducing costs and lead times. The focus on re-injection into declining oil deposits is driving higher pressures (up to 820 bars), new materials and advanced sealing technologies. Natural gas supply and demand requirements rarely match, with winter peaks and summer flats. A supply surplus may result in gas being pumped into storage using turbocompressors (Figure 1); then fed back into the pipeline grid during peak demand. Other applications include gas lift, gathering and re-injection, oil-gas separation, boil-off gas and fuel gas-syngas compression, pipeline duties, and refinery processes.