EGCR News

Technical Tuesday: Grounded Ignition Systems

July 27, 2021

Through life, we go from the fear of being grounded to hoping for it… Having a good ground is essential for our ignition systems and the other electrical systems on our equipment. If you are struggling with intermittent issues, grounding should be one of your first checks. 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.

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CH4 Facts: CO Levels Trending Down

July 22, 2021

Our post on fossil fuel emissions didn’t show the cumulative effects on air concentration based on those emissions. So, let’s take a deeper look at CO. Levels are trending down in PPM. 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.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Carbon Monoxide Trends | National Air Quality: Status and Trends of Key Air Pollutants | US EPA

EGCR: Educating the Oil & Gas Industry Since 1973

Technical Tuesday: Pipeliners, We Pass Gas for a Living

July 20, 2021

Pipeline quality gas is a standard that quantifies gas to provide an apple-to-apple comparison for customers. It’s similar to the gasoline label at the pump that shows 5-6 grades of gasoline — hopefully, you choose one that your engine is tuned for. Does pipeline gas vary like the grades of gasoline? You bet! This chart shows the day-to-day variation that an engine might see as supply changes from shale, to conventional on shore, and off shore supply. How often should you look at the chromatograph readings to check your fuel quality and update your engine control logic? Learn more at the EGCR. Meet operational experts, vendors and manufacturers. Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable, September 14-16, 2021 in Pittsburgh, PA.

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CH4 Facts: Fossil Fuel Emissions

July 15, 2021

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.

Chart of National Annual Emissions Trend
12 — Reference: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Annual Emissions Trend (1 pg, 102 K) Criteria pollutants National Tier 1 for 1970 – 2019.

EGCR: Educating the Oil & Gas Industry Since 1973

Technical Tuesday: Cooler Efficiency

July 13, 2021

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

July 8, 2021

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.

Graph of energy use per serson — Ritchie and Max Roser (2020) – “Energy”. Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: ‘https://ourworldindata.org/energy’ [Online Resource] United States: Energy Country Profile – Our World in Data

EGCR: Educating the Oil & Gas Industry Since 1973

Technical Tuesday: Rod Reversal

July 6, 2021

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.

Have a tip? Do you have a technical tip to share? Submit your tip, along with an associated image and we may include it in our Technical Tuesday social media posts, blog posts and emails.

CH4 Facts: Primary Energy Consumption

July 1, 2021

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.

Primary Energy Consumption chart measured in TWh

EGCR: Educating the Oil & Gas Industry Since 1973

Technical Tuesday: Boiler Safety

June 29, 2021

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.

Have a tip? Do you have a technical tip to share? Submit your tip, along with an associated image and we may include it in our Technical Tuesday social media posts, blog posts and emails.

CH4 Facts: Dry Shale Gas Production

June 24, 2021

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.