Press release Compressor Tech Two September/October 1998 Article Diversity Is The Name Of This West Texas Compressor Packager’s Game Diversity is the name of the game for one West Texas, U.S.A., compressor packager that says its business operation is without limitations concerning application, horsepower, market size or location, whether domestic or foreign. VR Systems, Inc., offers sales gas packages as well as packages for landfill, vapor recovery and acid gas injection, which range from 5 to 1500 hp (3.7 to 1118 kW). Headquartered in Odessa, Texas, VR Systems is an authorized packager for Ariel and Gemini reciprocating compressors, Caterpillar engines, LeROI rotary screw compressors, and A-C Ro-flo sliding vane compressors. "We select the type of compressor that best fits the job, whether vane or screw type for low-pressure needs or reciprocating compressors for high pressure requirements," said Jack Motley, president. Although we’re diversified in packaging compression for any number of applications, our focus is on specialized jobs such as steam flood and acid gas operations," The company’s manufacturing facility comprises 10,000 sq. ft. (930 m2) on 4.3 acres (1.7 hectares), and its 25 employees include a full time quality control manager, two engineers, two design draftsmen, shop techinicians and administrative personnel. In the pressure vessel shop, two full time technicians build ASME vessels and depending on the job destination, apply specific registration such as Canadian for a package to be delivered to that country. Recently, a package comprising an Ariel JGA2/3 compressor rated 194hp (145kW), driven by a Caterpillar 3306 gas engine, was completed for a Canadian customer. The unit will be fully housed in a 12 x 22 ft. (3.7 x 6.7 m) building. As with all VR Systems packages, Quality Control assures the unit is 100% x-ray and stress checked. "Quality becomes an issue on every single component," Motley said. "The QC manager and shop foremen work closely together, because when a unit is shipped 3000 miles (4830kM) to its field site, a change would be expensive." He added that all skids are concrete-filled to prevent flexing and offset any vibration. Full outriggers are built from concrete to provide extra stability for scrubbers. For all of VR System’s specialty projects, the company designs and builds its own pulsation bottles and suction scrubbers. The latest Hysim process simulation software is used to verify heat and material balances, and to assist engineers in simulating gas streams under various conditions. "Also, we build our own belt guards and everything else in-house prior to assembly," Motley said. "Further, we even generate our own electric power at this facility using a Caterpillar generator and purchased fuel from a local utility." VR Systems has sold specialty packages to many customers for offshore locations in the U.S. Gulf Coast and California. Motley said units designed and built for offshore use are compact. He cited a short turnaround job that was completed for the operator of a California offshore rig who was being threatened with shutdown because of an acid gas stream. The gas was 60% H2S, with the remaining components being predominantly CO2 and water. VR Systems flew in a low-pressure package with stainless steel components and an A-C Ro-Flo compressor designed for vapor recovery. "That was three years ago, and the unit has performed continually since then," said Motley. VR Systems has grown significantly in the last two years, according to Robin Gaither, CEO. She said that while the company’s predominant business areas include New Mexico, California, Louisiana and Wyoming, the company has completed compression packages for landfill projects in a variety of locations. Motley described a project in which an affiliate of a major oil company has contracted to process landfill gas and sell it to a utility. He described the gas as low Btu with undesirable components including 50-55% methane; the remaining components are predominantly CO2 and water vapor, along with some other corrosive and unusable components. VR Systems is fabricating four compressor packages for this project to move 4.7 MMcfd (133,00 m3/d) from 0 to 400 psig (0 to 27.6 bar). Each unit combines a Weatherford Gemini E606/6 driven by a Waukesha L7042GL V-12 gas engine rated 1478 hp (1102 kW). "The compressors will include 22.5 in. (571.5mm), 16.5 in. (419.1mm) and 9.5 in. (241.3 mm) cylinders for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd stages, respectively," Motley said. "This particular job will be based on the Kryos process and will generate a side stream of low 580 Btu (612 kJ) gas. The engines are designed to start on purchased 900 Btu (950 kJ) fuel and can be switched later to operate on the 580 Btu fuel." The four packages will be delivered to four sites in the midwestern U.S. One package will be a four-throw compressor frame, while the other three locations will use six-throw frames because of line pressure requirements. "For three of the locations, boosting gas into the local pipeline will require an extra stage of compression," Motley said. "In one locale, the product stream will have to be boosted to get into an 855 psi (59 bar) line, and in two others the end user line is 510 psi (35.2 bar). "The local sites will provide cooling water for the engines and compressors," he continued. "The 1050F (40.60C) cooling water from the shell-and-tube heat exchangers will use 50% glycol/50% water. Each stage will be cooled, including the compressor oil, compressor cylinders, engine jacket water and engine oil." Motley said the design of the pulsation bottles and suction scrubbers requires 304 stainless steel, and the discharge bottles will be made from carbon steel—all according to NACE standards. The compressor and engine will be mounted on concrete-reinforced skids, with the heat exchanger on a separate skid. Each unit will have a computer driven PLC control panel to monitor shutdown points and control the power package. The units will also have a graphic user interface linked to another PLC panel at the plant to provide operational data collection, such as pressures and temperatures. The PLC panels automatically shut down a unit in the event of a problem, and lights indicate where the trouble is and, as such, allow for data trending. VR Systems is building the control panels in-house. The four packages were scheduled for delivery around the end of August. For this project, as well as all others, VR Systems uses the team leader concept. A team of employees works on a project from start to finish, and everyone stays involved. "It’s an effective structure that works," said Brent Beck, vice president. "The same people in the shop and in the office form a team that handles all aspects of a project, staying with that project through completion. "Basically, it’s a full line concept with an engineer, a draftsperson, a shop foreman, the team leader and all the individuals working on that project, such as shop technicians, electrician and vessel welders," he explained. "The team leaders are responsible to the shop foreman. The team meets once a week, and everyone understands the flows, capacities and end use of the equipment. Also, the customer is invited to our shop and introduced to everybody who will be working on that package. We feel that the end user’s presence instills more pride and added value on every project." Another landfill gas project, this one in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. required packaging compression equipment so a cement company can use landfill gas in lieu of purchased gas to fire a kiln. For this application, Motley said a 400 hp (298 kW) electric motor and LeRoi rotary screw compressor were paired to move 2000 cu. Ft. (56.6 m3) of gas from atmospheric pressure to a discharge pressure of 60 psig (4.14 bar) into a two-mile (3.2 km) long pipeline. "This landfill gas is approximately 65% methane," Motley said. "The amount of methane in a landfill varies according to the decomposition of the waste, but this is a good use of low Btu gas. Of course, it’s necessary to use more of it. For every cubic foot of what would have been purchased gas, the cement company will have to use almost twice as much methane gas. However, from an economic standpoint, the industry needs other methods to use landfill gas since the deregulation of electric utilities." In a different VR Systems project, two Ariel JGR4 four-stage compressor/engine packages with 800 hp (597kW) Waukesha F3521 inline-six engine drivers are used for acid gas injection into a Wyoming well. The gas is comprised of 97% H2S. "The 2 MMcfd (56,600 m3/d) gas stream is boosted to 800 psi (55.2 bar) from 20 psi (1.4 bar), treated, and then a reciprocating compressor boosts it to 1800 psi (124.2 bar)," Motley said. "The challenge here was the metallurgy. We used 304 stainless steel for the bottles and scrubber. Also, we have developed our own technique for zero-emissions. We are monitoring the recovery of the vapors off the packing through a packing purge system and H2S detector in the crankcase. The units are enclosed in a building, so it’s vital that H2S emissions are zero. For an acid gas injection project in New Mexico, VR Systems designed a package to move 150 Mcfd (425 m3/d) of 97% H2S from 0 to 1000 psi (69 bar). The package is an Ariel JGA2/4 with an electric motor and incorporating 304 stainless steel on all piping. VR Systems is also working on two overseas projects for companies in Indonesia. A pilot project in Sumatra involves what VR Systems calls "the world’s largest operational steam flood from which steam flood vapors are recovered and then incinerated." Motley said that a LeRoi single-stage screw compressor will be used in a low-pressure application designed to move 2 MMcfd (56,600 m3) from 0 to 30 psi (2.07 bar). In a project in Pekanbaru, three small units will move 300 Mcfd (8490 m3) from 0 to 30 psi. "All the Indonesian units are fabricated in our Odessa shop and shipped to Indonesia," Motley explained. "Indonesian law provides that some local content be incorporated, but all the engineering, design and manufacturing are done here." VR Systems has recently completed two 250 hp (186 kW) steam flood vapor recovery units for a domestic consumer. The gas stream, containing 30% to 40% methane, cannot be flared and is being mixed with air and burned in furnaces. Through its continuing diversification efforts to meet customers’ needs, VR Systems has recently instituted creative financing for its lease purchase equipment. Beck said a considerable amount of the industry’s small field compression requirements are being combined by operators and replaced with larger units in the 700 to 1000 hp (520 to 756 kW) range. "Companies want to centralize compression for a number of reasons, including cutting back on the number of field technicians required to service small units that are geographically spread out," Beck said. "The expense associated with replacing smaller units with large packages requires a lot of capital, and as a result we’re offering three- and five-year financing options. "We don’t set any limits on our ability to handle any size of compression or specialty project that a customer might have, and we don’t want customers to feel limited on financial options either."
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