With record natural gas consumption, what about the emissions from all the fossil fuel use? Since our consumption has steadily increased, then surely our emissions have as well right? No. Actually, our emissions controls and technologies have continued to improve, resulting in reductions of emissions. If you have a specific question, send us a message, or plan to join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable, September 14-16, 2021 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh, PA.
EGCR News
Technical Tuesday: Cooler Efficiency
Just not as cool as it used to be? As coolers age, they lose efficiency due to internal and external contamination, loss of air flow from leaks, etc. Another huge player is operational changes over the years. The coolant may have been changed say from methanol to glycol, or temperature set points may have changed due to upgrades. There are many ways to respond to this. You can rework the cooler bundle to add additional capability or add a standalone additional cooler, etc. Want to learn more? Join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on September 14-16, 2021 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA.
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CH4 Facts: Electrical Consumption Per Person
Our last post focused on electrical consumption per nation, but what about per person? Good question… let’s look at the data. Again, notice the fall of the USSR in the late 1980’s in the Russian data. The efficiency improvement trend of developed nations can be seen in this graph, too. If you have a specific question, send us a message or plan to join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable, September 14-16, 2021 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh, PA.
EGCR: Educating the Oil & Gas Industry Since 1973
Technical Tuesday: Rod Reversal
Rod reversal sounds like a catastrophic failure that would take a metal stitch guy a year to fix. It’s not… It’s actually a good thing that is required for the health and longevity of crosshead pins and bushings in a double acting compressor cylinder. The term rod reversal can describe a time period or the action of the crosshead pin movement from touching the inboard side of the crosshead bushing to the outboard side of the bushing, and then back. When describing a time period, it is expressed in degrees of crankshaft rotation. Different OEMs have different requirements for rod reversal so what you learn on a slow speed integral doesn’t translate to a high speed separable. Rod reversal failures can often be caused by compressor valve failures.
Have we piqued your interest? Plan to attend the Eastern Gas Compression Roudtable to learn more from operational experts, vendors, and manufacturers. September 14-16, 2021 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.
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CH4 Facts: Primary Energy Consumption
The US has been breaking records in production, but how do we compare to the rest of the world for consumption per person? Let’s look at the data. It is worth noting that population has steadily increased over this time frame, while you can see a leveling and decline in productions. Similar trends reflecting efficiency improvements can be seen in most developed nations.
Note: Look at the Russian data that shows the fall of the USSR in the late 1980’s. If you have a specific question, send us a message and plan to join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable, September 14-16, 2021 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh, PA.
EGCR: Educating the Oil & Gas Industry Since 1973
Technical Tuesday: Boiler Safety
Boilers aren’t just for cooking hot dogs. Many facilities use a steam or hot water system to heat their buildings. We often focus on safety related to our electronics, valves, compressors, natural gas, etc; but do you give the same attention to boiler safety? A boiler explosion can be a devastatingly massive event. Boilers are often found in buildings that share spaces with control rooms, offices, and other places people frequent. Don’t overlook it in your safety hazard analysis. Want to learn more? Join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on September 14-16, 2021 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA.
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CH4 Facts: Dry Shale Gas Production
In our last post we looked at the shale plays across the US, but how much gas is produced from those areas? In the production by state graphic, we saw that Texas was the biggest producer, but the graphic below shows the details of how. While Pennsylvania falls behind Texas, the Marcellus shale is far outperforming production of the other plays. If you have a specific question, send us a message or plan to join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable, September 14-16, 2021 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh, PA.
EGCR: Educating the Oil & Gas Industry Since 1973
2021 Keynote Address | Christopher T. Howell, Shell
Christopher T. Howell
Project Update – Shell Pennsylvania Chemicals
Chris joined Shell in 1992 and worked for 17 years in Deepwater related projects, covering multiple roles including R&D for facility design, Installation Manager for the Brutus Tension Leg Platform and Project Manager for the BC-10 FPSO offshore Brazil.
In 2009, Chris became the General Manager- Project Delivery Unconventionals, managing delivery of Shell’s Heavy Oil and Unconventional shale projects across North America. In 2014 Chris relocated to the Middle East as the Technical Director for Basra Gas Company in Iraq, a Joint Venture between Shell, Mitsubishi and the Government of Iraq to capture and process associated gas from oil field developments. Chris is currently the Project Director for the Pennsylvania Chemicals Project with accountability for delivery of the 1.5 million ton/annum polyethylene facility and supporting infrastructure.
Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Texas A&M University, a Master of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Doctorate in Engineering from MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.
The Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable is September 14-16, 2021 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Technical Tuesday: Repair Calamity
Ever wonder why a component repeatedly fails in the same place, or have you gotten frustrated by those repeated failures and made a field engineered repair that caused a calamity later? OEM’s put as much engineering behind ensuring that a system fails safely as they do in engineering how it operates. Some examples include switches that fail open or closed to actuate safety devices; compressor piston rods that are engineered to fail at the crosshead to ensure they don’t pull out of the packing case; and rupture discs on air and lube systems that prevent overpressure.
Before you break out the kryptonite and unobtainium welding rods to fix a repeated failure, ensure you don’t field engineer the safety factor out. Did this post make you question something that you have done in the past? Plan to join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on September 14-16, 2021 in Pittsburgh, PA. We can get you sorted out.
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CH4 Facts: Shale
We’ve reviewed state production in previous posts, so let’s take a closer look at geographical areas throughout the US. This graphic shows the shale plays that revolutionized energy in North America and shifted the world energy markets. If you have a specific question, send us a message and then plan to join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable, September 14-16, 2021 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh, PA.