Compressors and Turbines for the Oil and Gas Industries
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MAN TURBO Compressors and Turbines for the Oil and Gas Industries

Natural gas is an important commodity for a wide range of industrial processes, power generation and heating applications. And against the background of increasing environmental consciousness with ever more stringent pollution control regulations, its significance is growing. In the wake of the ensuing drive to reduce emissions, and following the elimination of certain application restrictions, the proportion accounted for by natural gas as a primary energy source has steadily increased at the cost of alternatives such as coal and oil. Over 70 countries are currently being supplied with...

Gas lift and reinjection Gas gathering and oil gas separation Gas transport and gas branch lines Gas storage LNG plants Boil-off gas compression Fuelgas compression The turbocompressors concerned may be required to compress the natural gas to just a few bar (as in the case of supply to firing systems for power stations) – or to several hundred bar, e.g. for reinjection into a flagging oil deposit. As the supplier of the world‘s most comprehensive range of turbomachinery, MAN TURBO is able to offer purpose-matched turbocompressors for all the applications mentioned. MAN TURBO also supplies...

Horizontally split casings The horizontally split casings of the RH series are generally used where operating pressures are relatively low. The casings are either of cast steel or of welded construction. In each case, the material is carefully selected on the basis of the application and the gas being compressed. A standardised series is available for all casing types within the framework of a modular construction system which enables each specific set of requirements to be ideally satisfied. Normally, all the connections such as the suction and discharge nozzles, the sidestream admission...

The bearing housings are also horizontally split, i. and shaft seals are accessible without the inner to be withdrawn. However, the inner bundle can be a complete unit together with the bearings and seals any re-fitting or conversion work. Vertically split casings (barrel-type compressors) These casings are employed where the operating pressure is relatively high or if the gas being compressed contains e.g. hydrogen for which a particularly tight material microstructure is required. The casings consist of cast or forged steel and feature one or two end covers. The end covers are held in...

Internals/Diaphragms The internal flow-conducting components comprise an inlet ring, the intermediate diaphragms and the discharge volute. The inlet ring leads the gas to the intake of the first impeller. If required, it may be equipped with adjustable inlet guide vanes. The diaphragms form a diffuser (either bladed or unbladed) for each impeller and the return duct leading to the intake of the next impeller. The discharge volute conducts the gas to the discharge nozzle of the compressor. All the rings and diaphragms are horizontally split. Depending on requirements, they may be...

Depending on the service conditions, MAN TURBO applies the following systems: Labyrinths, although these are rarely used in the oil and gas industry Oil-lubricated mechanical contact seals which also perform a standstill sealing function Oil-lubricated floating-ring seals Dry-running gas seals which require no additional sealing system In the high-pressure range oil seals are being increasingly replaced by dry-running gas seals. The sealing effect is brought about by hydrostatic and hydrodynamic pressure distribution phenomena within a very narrow sealing gap. The space between the process...

An ever-increasing world demand for petroleum means that it is necessary to continue exploitation of known oil deposits even when the natural pressure of the well has decreased to such an extent that normal production is no longer possible. The processes of gas lift and gas reinjection enable economic production to be maintained under such conditions. Gas lift The injection of natural gas into the rising main enables the weight of the oil column to be reduced sufficiently so that the low residual pressure of the well is still sufficient to raise the oil/gas mixture to the production...

03_MAN TURBO supplies ready-to-operate modules for offshore well as individual compressors and turbines. Shown in the photo identical gas lift packages; total weight per package: approx. 440 t. 04_Compressor unit for gas reinjection manufactured for service platform. 01_Three identical compressor-gas turbine modules were supplied by MAN TURBO for an offshore oil field near India. The double-casing package unit compresses the natural gas to approx. 100 bar. The compressor trains are driven by MAN TURBO THM 1304 gas turbines. 02_The inner assembly of a vertically split compressor designed for...

Gas gathering Owing to constantly rising energy prices, even small gas fields have to be exhaustively exploited. To enable cost-efficient compression and transport of the relatively small quantities of natural gas produced at these depleted sources, the outputs from several fields are gathered and subsequently compressed. Gas gathering involves coping with different volume flow rates at different pressure levels. Depending on the quantity and pressure range, either multistage centrifugal compressors – for sidestream admission of the different gas flows – or single-stage centrifugal...

01_Compressor skid including a gas seal instrument panel. A total of 6 separately installed and separately driven compressor-gas turbine trains were provided for the three process stages of this application. 02_Low-pressure compressor driven by an electric motor rated at 3800 kW for the first process stage of a gas gathering facility. The compressor compresses the natural gas from 1.0 to 3.8 bar. 03_MAN TURBO supplied 18 RH and RB turbocompressors for this gas treatment plant. 03

Turbocompressors of the barrel-type design are predominantly used for the transport and distribution of natural gas. Depending on requirements, a distinction is made between pipeline compressors for natural gas transmission over very long distances, and branch line compressors in conurbations where they are employed to distribute the natural gas through a more local network serving many different consumers. Pipeline compressors MAN TURBO pipeline compressors are characterised by their rugged, heavy-duty design. These compressors are almost exclusively driven by gas turbines, steam turbines...