Because of the boom in natural gas production, new-built compressor stations and compression upgrades need to come online faster today. “Dual-tracking” is a notion that brings design and construction forward at the same time offering a proven, minimal-risk construction method to achieve exactly this. What the method means, for transporters of natural gas, is the chance to get more gas to market faster and generate increased cash flows.

Managers and mechanical engineers who are already considering station design optimization, identifying the best alternative to sizing and unit arrangements ought to be thinking even further ahead…to optimized construction.

Getting Beyond Optimized Design
The industry’s real bottleneck may be in building new compressor stations for natural gas transportation, or increasing the capacity of existing stations. Station design appears to be an established process, involving fully engineered structures that entail much more than bricks and mortar.

Efficiently arranged turbines compress and pump natural gas through the pipeline. Liquid separators, like the ones used to dehydrate natural gas during processing, use scrubbers and filters to capture liquids or other undesirable particles from the gas in the pipeline. A metering system measures the gas that’s flowing through the pipeline and offers real-time data-gathering opportunities. An emergency shutdown system and an on-site computerized flow control and dispatch system maintain the operational integrity of the station.

In fact, compressor stations have become more complex. They must meet increasingly stringent requirements. They demand meticulous, step-by-step construction, following timelines which appear to be set in concrete. Safely increasing the construction rate of compressor stations would be an outstanding contribution to a company’s bottom line.

Let’s speak plainly: A lot of wells are being drilled. A lot of pipe is being laid because of substantial growth in natural gas production. But our industry is not building as many stations (or as much additional capacity) that will be needed by any measure of the gas volumes that are going to be coming out of the ground.

The length of time it takes for natural gas transportation companies to add capacity to their compressor station fleet is not meeting the ability of new fields to supply natural gas. There’s immense pressure (no pun intended) to get a lot more new gas to market faster.

Knowns and Unknowns
We don’t know why more natural gas transportation companies aren’t keeping up with demand for compression. One thought is that some firms aren’t able to plan efficiently because of the immense time constraints in this fast-paced industry. Perhaps natural gas suppliers are already moving so fast, they are staying with compressor station techniques they’re familiar with, to avoid risks or hold-ups.

However, we do know that the amount of natural gas available for market is increasing much faster than the capacity of the stations being built and brought on line. Even the Federal government’s figures, showing a growth in throughput capacity over 10 years (1996-2006) of 138 Bcf/day, represents just a 1.9% increase per year – and this is before new production began to flow.

We also know that some companies have begun to address this challenge more aggressively, shaving months off the time required to bring new compressor stations online.

Dual-Tracking Delivers Added Compression Sooner
Effectively, dual-tracking compressor station construction means that some elements of construction (even bidding) are moving forward at the same time as engineering. They advance together. Some steps may be combined or eliminated altogether.

Remembering that time is money, dual-tracking lets transporters (and their contractors) tackle construction work in a more efficient, more market-driven way without increasing risks.

The integrity of the design process has to be preserved: Engineers are appropriately methodical, emphasizing careful design. At the same time, too much rigidity may hamper construction schedules and increase expenditures substantially. Today, adopting procedures that let a natural gas transportation and distribution companies to meet market needs is critical. It is a service these firms ought to expect from their contractors.

It is tempting to call the process fast-tracking, except this term is not as positive in its connotations. In the hands of an experienced contractor, dual-tracking in just as rigorous and just as safe as the “normal” compressor station design-build process.

How much time can be saved? How much faster can a company get compressor stations online? EMS experience has shown that by actually hiring a compressor station contractor before the work is fully scoped, you could save three to four months in the process.

Safety – and Meeting Regulations – Foremost
An efficient dual-track method might seem to imply that cutting corners or “working faster” results in increased safety risks. Our experience indicates otherwise. By using organized planning, programmed operator qualification (OQ) and systematic communication of progress, risks can be minimized significantly.

Federal regulations that apply directly to compressor stations, including environmental safety, are handled as an integral part of the work process. EMS itself is experienced at accommodating national regulatory issues; with intrastate pipeline/compressor station work, the customer typically handles regulatory issues. This template would apply to dual-track work in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Colorado, for example.

Permitting issues are handled at the customer level while OQ is covered by EMS. At the same time, to ensure that the build method is fully debottlenecked, additional relationships becomes important. Effective construction demands close, effective coordination with equipment providers and construction subs because they support the dual-track process.

(Noise abatement is less of an issue. Our own dual-track method occasionally includes noise suppression equipment but this has typically outside our scope of work. First, the building structure itself surrounds the station and suppresses the noise these days. Second, we cycle back to add on or retrofit for noise abatement when it becomes a local issue – this usually occurs after a community has grown up around or near a compressor station location.)

Benefits of Dual-Tracking – and Trust
Based on our own track record, we suggest that dual-tracking is a win-win model. It offers companies [1] a more rapid way to bring compressor stations online safely; and [2] increased opportunities to move more natural gas to market. Which means you could gain more market share than the normal method of compressor station construction.

How do you know for certain that these benefits can be delivered? It is natural for EMS to say, “Trust the relationship.”

Safe, effective dual-tracking demands that firms work with contractors who have proven themselves in this method, who have won the confidence of their customers using this more modern, more efficient process. It demands that you look at the in-service facilities which offer proof-of-performance as well as proof-of-concept.

This way, working ahead of the ordinary design-build curve, your entire team can move the process more quickly, more efficiently – even if the drawings aren’t completed yet – and shorten your time to market.