Nitrogen Backup to Instrument Air: 14 hours, $90,000 loss averted, $85 of N2 utilized

Customer:  

E&P operator in the Haynesville Shale, Louisiana

Site Type:  

New well pad with high production rates

Application:

Kathairos nitrogen system serving as backup to existing instrument air compressor package to provide necessary power to all pneumatic controls

A major US exploration and production company operating in the Haynesville Shale in western Louisiana had previously invested capital to purchase instrument air (IA) compressor packages to power the pneumatic control systems on a series of new greenfield pads with high daily production rates.

Due to the criticality of keeping the production flowing and potential concerns on the reliability of the instrument air systems, a single 3000L Kathairos liquid nitrogen tank was installed as a ‘hot backup’ to the IA system.

The nitrogen tank was connected downstream of the IA system buffer tank, and if the pressure were to drop below a set point of approximately 100psi, the nitrogen system would automatically take over, providing the well pad pneumatics with dry nitrogen gas and avoiding any downtime or loss of production.

Event:

At approximately 6pm on November 25, 2023, the instrument air system went offline, critically halting the estimated daily production of a ~62 MMSCFD producing well.

Request the whitepaper to learn how the Kathairos system kicked in, what was saved, and how the operator has since expanded their highly economical 'backup insurance' program across the region.

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