American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2016 - 61

SpecialReport: Compression & Production Optimization

Service Firms Cut Compression Costs
By Colter Cookson
The old adage that a penny saved is a
penny earned may not have as much impact as it did when a kid could put a
penny on the counter and get a bottle cap
or piece of bubble gum in exchange. But
for natural gas producers and the compression companies that help their products
reach market, the concept resonates.
Indeed, compressor manufacturers,
packagers, and contractors say they are
doing everything they can to help producers
find small savings that add up. For many,
that means rolling out advanced remote

monitoring systems, streamlining manufacturing, and developing new products
that combine flexibility with efficiency.
According to Kevin Lawlor, an engineering adviser with Cimarex Energy,
the quest to reduce costs often involves
coming up with practical ways to adjust
to rapidly changing volumes.
"Because gas production ramps up
and down as drilling commences and declines, it is hard to make economic decisions on how much horsepower to install
in a field and how to keep that horsepower
loaded efficiently," he says. "To tackle
that challenge, many producers and con-

tract compression companies are taking
a modular approach to designing compressor stations. Instead of using one or
two large compressors, they are dividing
the load among three to seven machines,
which makes it easy to add or remove
capacity as the field's production rate inclines and declines."
Lawlor adds that compressor manufacturers are maximizing their machines'
ability to work at various pressures and
flow rates. "For example, they are installing
valves to allow rapid changes from onestage to two- or three-stage applications,"
he illustrates.

Mobile Classroom Trains Compressor Mechanics
MOUNT VERNON, OH.-At some
point, even the most durable and reliable
compressor needs to shut down for maintenance. While that is unavoidable, if the
mechanics performing preventive maintenance and/or repairs know the compressor, the disruption can be minimized.
To help field mechanics master com-

training in the mobile lab as we do at our
factory headquarters in Mount Vernon,"
Parks assures. "The lab includes an Ariel
JGJ/2 compressor mounted on an alignment
stand, so students can do coupling alignments and full compressor rebuilds. They
also will have access to a lubrication
system that can simulate common faults,

As of late April, Parks says Ariel had
completed 13 classes as well as three
customer-specific events where students
had the chance to learn directly from the
company's subject matter experts. "The
students love the lab," Parks comments.
"They are getting realistic training without
the hassle associated with travel."

Ariel Corporation's new mobile training laboratory is designed to give compressor mechanics hands-on experience.

pressor operations, Ariel Corporation
has built a 53-foot mobile training laboratory, reports Brett Parks, the company's sales and distribution development manager. "We knew the downturn
would limit travel budgets for our distributors and customers, so we wanted
to be able to go to them," he says.
"We can offer the same hands-on

as well as a flatness station where we can
teach them how to use alignment lasers
with some of our engineering references."
When set up on location, the lab has
480 square feet of space, Parks says. He
points out that it includes seven student
workstations and a teaching station, as
well as four computers in a separate
classroom.

The laboratory is self-contained,
Parks continues. "It has a 20-kilowatt
generator and wireless Internet, so we
do not need anything other than a flat
area for it to show up on site," he says.
In late April, the training lab was
touring Texas. "The demand is strong,
but we have plenty of openings," Parks
concludes.
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MAY 2016 61

American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2016

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