Natural Gas Compression

Compressor stations are essential for enabling the flow of natural gas through transmission pipelines.

The movement of large volumes of gas requires the installation of compressors to increase pressure by reducing volume. The compressors may come in the form of a natural gas-fired turbine to turn a centrifugal compressor, a centrifugal compressor driven by a high voltage electric motor, or a reciprocating engine/reciprocating compressor also known as a recip.

As the transmission pipeline enters the compressor station, the natural gas passes through scrubbers, strainers or filter separators designed to remove any free liquids or dirt particles from the gas before it enters the compressors.

Ensuring the safe and reliable operation of your natural gas compressor stations.

Natural gas compressors must be capable of handling expected volumes safely and without disrupting other activities, but unexpected variations can cause surges, starvation, or in severe cases, a gas flow reversal that can damage the machine and create a safety hazard.

Ensuring compressor station reliability and availability are paramount to overall gas pipeline delivery dependability. Monitoring and trending of vibration, bearing temperatures, and other critical operational parameters are necessary to identify service needs to prevent catastrophic equipment failures.

With Emerson’s process control systems, valves, measurement instrumentation, and asset reliability solutions, your gas compressor stations can operate reliably while safely avoiding hazardous situations by effectively recycling or diverting excess gas under high-pressure conditions.