Alex Flournoy, Vice President of Business Development, Baseline Energy Services, discusses the role mobile natural gas-powered generators play in meeting the power requirements of electric-drive compressors.
In the midstream sector, compressors operate nonstop, pushing natural gas across thousands of miles of pipeline. By maintaining consistent pressure, these compressors efficiently move natural gas from the wellhead to the market, serving everything from residential heating to LNG exports. Today, many midstream operators are considering employing electric-drive compressors based on their reliability and low or zero-emissions operation. These same factors are also driving the consideration of electric compressors’ use in gas-lift-enabled production.
However, providing a reliable source of electric power to these compressors is no minor issue. Many natural gas compression facilities are located in remote locations which have unreliable grid connections. This set of circumstances is forcing midstream companies to evolve their approach to powering these modern electric compressors.
Enter mobile natural gas-powered generators, a new generation of flexible, scalable, and environmentally friendly solutions which are transforming how electric compressors can be powered.
The challenge of powering modern electric compressors
Gas compression is mission-critical for the natural gas industry. A sudden loss of power can disrupt flows, damage equipment, and create costly downtime. The problem is that many compressor stations are located at the far edges of the electric grid, in rural or remote locations where reliable power is not guaranteed. In this case, outages are not just inconvenient; they can jeopardise contractual obligations and system integrity.
Similarly, the loss of power during gas lift operations can result in significant production loss. Traditionally, oil and gas operators have been forced to rely on two options: the costly extension of transmission lines from the grid or the use of diesel generators. However, both approaches offer significant drawbacks. Grid power can be unreliable in remote areas, while using diesel generation brings with it high fuel costs, emissions issues, and logistical headaches associated with transporting fuel. In addition, as environmental pressures mount, diesel is becoming less competitive compared to new onsite power solutions available in the market.
Mobile natural gas generators: technology meets necessity
Mobile natural gas-powered generators are closing the gap between operational reliability and environmental responsibility by providing a clean and dependable power source for electric compressors. These generators, often trailer-mounted for easy deployment, directly convert natural gas into electricity. Since fuel for these generators can be taken from the pipeline or wellhead, these generators can provide a stable and scalable power source with limited interruption in fuel supply.
Today’s mobile natural gas generator systems are designed to meet the power requirements of modern electric compressors, most of which operate at 4160 V. In terms of capacity, these mobile units are highly flexible. Mobile natural gas generators are available in different configurations, with popular sizes being 400 kW up to 2.5 MW of power per unit. When higher capacity is needed, operators can engage parallel load-sharing of generators to create significantly larger microgrids, ensuring redundancy, scalability, and optimal efficiency.
This modular approach allows operators the flexibility to scale mobile natural gas power solutions to meet expanded requirements, reduce output during periods of lower demand, increase reliability through redundance, and redeploy units to other facilities as load needs change.
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