Air Compression in the Oil and Gas Industry

Companies within the oil and gas industry rely on compressed air solutions to complete many challenging applications.

Five key applications in the oil and gas industry requiring compressed air include:

Drilling

Customers use air compression for both onshore and offshore drilling. The short-form definition of onshore drilling is the act of drilling holes under the earth’s surface, into the ground. Offshore drilling is conducted beneath the seabed.

Onshore applications can be a ‘one-man band’ with a small rig and one compressor, to huge spreads consisting of 24000 scfm or more. By using equipment such as the Sullair 1300XH/1525XH dual pressure machine for both shallow and deep hole drilling either onshore or offshore applications, Sullair can accommodate all your major requirements of this key market sector. Offshore applications typically require a rig-safe compressor or containerized solution, typically driven by end customers’ safety requirements.

The size, depth and composition of earth to be drilled generally dictates the amount of air pressure required. For instance, a geothermal well requiring a large amount of high pressure air – around 24,000 cfm – can be as many as 20 compressors, and where space is a premium, our Sullair solution can operate whilst double stacked, typically delivering up to 3000 cfm in a 20-foot deck space.

Gas Compression

Gas ends are a critical component in any package system. OEM equipment manufacturers, process gas packagers and leasers rely on engineered solutions that are integrated into their drilling equipment and packages. Gas ends handle high volumes of sweet or sour natural gases, helium, ammonia, bio gas, and many more. Applications include vapor recovery, landfill gas, fuel gas boosting and wellhead boosting.

Manufacturers such as Sullair offer a range of rotary screw gas ends with capacities from 72 cfm to 3292 cfm, pressures up to 500 psi, and horsepower ranges from 25-1200 hp.

Pipe and Process Services

Pipeline and Process Services (PPS) is a very specialized Oil and Gas market sector with several major service companies depending on Sullair’s renowned reliability, air end warranty and many thousands of proven hours in the field to ensure their project delivers to plan. PPS spreads can consist of many complex components that the Service Company must rely upon to perform in very harsh, hot, unforgiving environments and knowing they have a dependable product such as a Sullair air compressor at-hand delivers this assurance tenfold.

Well Testing

Well testing can be an intensive, highly demanding Offshore application where deck and rig space is a premium. The Sullair containerized solution offers a perfect answer for this need.

The Sullair 1600 cfm double stacked containerized solution offers up to 3200 cfm in a 20-foot deck space delivering high performance air to a critical application.

Fabric Maintenance

To ensure continuous operation and to protect vulnerable equipment, scheduled maintenance is essential. Many regions of the world, including Europe, rely on Sullair reliability, rugged design and capability to operate in both onshore and offshore applications. Some oil and gas companies require DNV containerized equipment, or crash frames, to help protect the equipment operating within the harsh environments of the oil and gas industry and Sullair can accommodate their needs.