Transvac Technical Paper Presented at IPTC 2022, Riyadh

Peter Ainge, Business Development Manager, Transvac, and Eyad Al Khateeb, Consultant Services Division (CSD), Saudi Aramco presented their joint technical paper at International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) 2022, Riyadh, last week, titled “Selection and Evaluation of Ejectors for Flare Gas Recovery and Upstream/midstream Gas Compression Applications”

The paper focused on the use of Ejectors as an alternative to ‘traditional’ rotating-type compressors, highlighting the benefits of maintenance-free Ejector operation. The presentation was well attended and followed by an extended question and answer session.

Abstract 

Historically, Ejectors have been regarded as novel but inefficient devices. For projects requiring a dedicated motive liquid stream (where one was not already freely available), the high liquid flow rate requirements (and therefore high pump power requirements) were prohibitive when compared to power consumption of equivalent rotating compressors, without looking at overall life-cycle costs.  

In recent years, through an ongoing long-term Product Development Project, a Specialized Ejector designer and manufacturer have significantly increased the efficiency of liquid-driven Ejector technology. In some cases, over 50% reduction in pump power requirements has been achieved. Importantly, these improvements mean the new Ejector designs often require less power than traditional compressors.  

This paper will explore the latest advancements in Ejector technology, and how this has altered the landscape for the selection process of various compressor types for highly challenging duties, such as Flare Gas Recovery and midstream gas compression. In particular, we will see how improvements in liquid-driven Ejectors (Liquid Jet Compressors or LJC’s) can offer significant power and life-cycle cost savings compared to other compressor types.  

We will use recent case study/project examples to demonstrate how operators and end-user oil and gas companies have already successfully implemented Ejector technology for Flare Gas Recovery and other gas compression applications. The selected projects will demonstrate how Ejectors can be driven by “waste energy”, and how they can be controlled and other operational considerations. We will also look at how Ejector solutions can operate efficiently using dedicated high-pressure pumps as part of a complete packaged solution. 

Future Events…

Transvac have already submitted Technical Paper Abstracts with a view to present two further Technical Conferences – Adipec 2022, Abu Dhabi, and ONS, Stavanger, Norway. Further details to be announced when event programmes are released.