Andromeda Computer Systems Ltd.

 

Performance Testing: the benefits

Our Performance Testing system is designed for operators of natural gas pipelines. A Performance Testing program can save money and improve operations:

Fuel Efficiency

By knowing the actual characteristics of compression units, rather than just the manufacturer's claims, you can predict exactly where the units will operate at given flow conditions.

By incorporating "as installed" wheel maps into a model of the pipeline, your Gas Controllers can choose to operate the combinations of units which will give the highest fuel efficiency. This can increase overall fuel gas efficiency by several percentage points: a significant reduction in operating costs for most pipelines.

Fuel costs

In a typical natural gas pipeline, the percentage of gas transported which is used as fuel gas is around 2%. Improving the efficiency by a few percentages points translates into millions of dollars on a significant pipeline.

Capacity planning

Predict how much capacity will be available during different seasons. Predict how much capacity will be available under different operating conditions.

Predictibility

Like most pipelines, your organization probably follows a predictive maintenance program. In determining when and were to perform preventative maintenance, it's helpful to know where the unit is actually running at given flow and head

Diagnosis

  • Do units make their rated power? The folks in one of our client companies suspected that some units weren't making their rated power, and using our system, were able to prove that they weren't.
  • Find recycle leaks, which increase fuel consumption.

Undetected loss of capacity could translate into:

  • not being able to meet nominations
  • not getting the power you paid for

It's helpful to compare characteristics over time, to see if something has happened to affect unit efficiency (eg: line blockages). Here's an area in which routine Performance Testing, along with our sofware, can help your pipeline to meet it's goals.

For more details, see our Cost-Benefit analysis...