Compressors: Indispensable Equipment in Natural Gas Production Process

With the global energy structure shifting towards cleanness and low carbonization, natural gas, as an efficient and environmentally friendly clean energy, has become increasingly prominent in the global energy consumption market. According to the 2015 BP Statistical Review of World Energy, the proportion of natural gas in global primary energy consumption reached 23.7% in 2014, while the corresponding proportion in China was only 5.6% at the same period, leaving enormous room for development. From the perspective of national energy security strategy and the optimization and upgrading of the energy structure, vigorously promoting the high-quality development of the natural gas industry has become an inevitable trend. The technological breakthrough and application of core equipment related to natural gas production are the key supports for industrial development. Among them, natural gas compressors, as the core power equipment in the entire natural gas production process, are indispensable, and their derivatives such as natural gas booster compressors and gas field compressors have also become core demand products in the industry.

In the entire industrial chain of natural gas extraction, gathering and transportation, and storage, natural gas compressors assume the core mission of pressurization, transportation, and production guarantee. They are widely used in various key links of gas field development, directly determining the efficiency, stability, and safety of natural gas production. Whether it is gas well dewatering and gas production, natural gas gathering and processing, long-distance pipeline pressurization, or underground gas storage peak shaving, the efficient operation of industrial compressors is indispensable, and their role runs through every important node of natural gas production. Among them, pipeline compressors and gas storage compressors are the core equipment in each link.

In the gas field extraction stage, dewatering and gas production is a key process to ensure the continuous and stable production of gas wells. With the extension of gas well production time, the gas reservoir pressure will gradually decline, and liquid will easily accumulate at the bottom of the well, leading to a decrease in gas well productivity or even shutdown. At this time,dewatering gas production compressors play a core role: through the gas lift process, natural gas booster compressors inject high-pressure gas into the well, effectively reducing the pressure gradient from the gas injection point to the wellhead, reducing the bottom hole back pressure, increasing the production pressure difference, thereby improving the fluid flow rate and natural gas liquid-carrying capacity, smoothly discharging the liquid at the bottom of the well, helping the flooded gas well resume production, and realizing continuous or intermittent stable gas production.

After natural gas extraction, the gas gathering and processing link also cannot do without the support of natural gas compressors. With the continuous gas production of gas wells, the wellhead pressure will gradually decrease. When the pressure is lower than the rated working pressure of the gas gathering system, the extracted natural gas cannot be smoothly integrated into the gas gathering pipeline network without pressurization. The core function of gas gathering compressors is to pressurize the low-pressure natural gas. The key to its design lies in matching reasonable technical parameters - the outlet pressure must not be lower than the operating pressure of the gas gathering branch lines and main lines to ensure the smooth transportation of natural gas; the inlet pressure must match the gas well inlet pressure, determined by the bottom hole pressure at the end of the gas field's pressurization and stable production period. Usually, industrial compressors are installed in or around the gas gathering station to ensure the efficient connection of pressurization operations.

For long-distance natural gas transportation, pipeline transport compressors are even more indispensable core equipment, which is vividly known as the "heart" of natural gas pipeline transportation. Long-distance natural gas pipelines are long and have high resistance along the way. It is impossible to achieve long-distance transportation only by the pressure during extraction. Therefore, it is necessary to build booster stations along the pipeline, and use natural gas booster compressors for multiple stages of pressurization to overcome the resistance along the pipeline, ensuring that natural gas can be transported to end users across regions stably and efficiently. The performance of long-distance pipeline compressors directly determines the transportation efficiency.

As an important facility for natural gas peak shaving and supply guarantee, the normal operation of underground gas storage also cannot do without the support of gas storage compressors. The core function of the gas storage is to adjust the balance between natural gas supply and demand: inject excess natural gas into the gas storage for storage during the low period of natural gas consumption; extract the stored natural gas and transport it to the pipeline during the peak consumption period to ensure the stable supply of terminal gas. In the gas injection process, it is necessary to rely on large-scale natural gas compressors to provide high-pressure power, pressurize the natural gas and inject it into the gas storage formation, ensuring the safety and efficiency of the storage process. Large natural gas compressors are also the core component of the gas storage gas injection system.

In terms of the application of compressor types, reciprocating natural gas compressors and centrifugal natural gas compressors were mainly used in the natural gas industry in the past. In recent years, with the continuous upgrading of China's manufacturing technology, the manufacturing technology of screw-type natural gas compressors has made significant breakthroughs. Screw air compressors have been increasingly widely used in the natural gas industry due to their unique advantages. Among them, water-lubricated oil-free screw natural gas air compressors have performed particularly prominently. They not only occupy a small area and have a wide range of air volume adjustment, but also have the characteristics of low gas production temperature (only ambient temperature +10℃), low noise, simple maintenance, and low failure rate, which are more suitable for the production conditions of special gases such as natural gas. In addition, the main engine cavity of this type of air compressor does not need to use lubricating oil, which can greatly reduce the safety risks in the production process and provide strong guarantee for the safe production of enterprises. Lontrex Service Center can also provide 24-hour free technical support to further ensure the stable operation of natural gas compressors.

In summary,natural gas compressors as the core power equipment in the entire natural gas production process, their performance and application directly affect the development quality of the natural gas industry. With the continuous development of the natural gas industry, the technical requirements for industrial natural gas compressors will also continue to improve. In the future, more efficient, energy-saving and safe products such as natural gas booster compressors and screw-type natural gascompressors will become an important support for promoting the high-quality development of the natural gas industry.