Nitrogen gas is one of the primary products and services used throughout the Oil & Gas industry ranging from the initial drilling of the well to the delivery of the finished product via pipeline, truck and train to the end user. As a naturally occurring inert gas, Nitrogen can safely be used to displace hydrocarbons from refineries, gas plants or pipelines allowing for safe entry, inspection and repair. Nitrogen has several properties that make it an ideal tool for use in the energy industry; it is inert, non-toxic, non-corrosive and non reactive with other materials.
Applications within the Energy industry for this process include:
- Purging of hazardous materials
- Heating of vessels and reactors
- Well completions and fluids removal
- Pigging and Inerting pipelines
- Cooling of hot process vessels
- System Drying and De-watering
- Pneumatic Pressure Testing
- Leak Testing
- Underbalanced Drilling
- Velocity Cleaning
Nitrogen Services can be delivered to the customers’ site in a variety of methods; as a cryogenic liquid, compressed dry gas bottles, or filtered from the atmosphere at site using a Nitrogen membrane unit. The most common treatment method used in Alberta is to deliver the Nitrogen to site in bulk as a cryogenic liquid, and convert it to a warm dry gas using a diesel fired heat exchanger on the pumping unit. The Nitrogen gas can be delivered at temperatures ranging from -150 to +400 C. and pressures starting at atmospheric and up to 10,000 psi. Recent developments have also allowed for the use of Nitrogen filtering membranes to become an accepted method of gas delivery for specific projects including low rate delivery, underbalanced drilling and remote locations.
The method of application chosen depends on the project size and scale, with economics being of major consideration. Nitrogen applications can range in size from a two hour operation involving one pumper and operator. To operations lasting months and utilizing numerous pumpers and transports. Some projects require very large volumes of Nitrogen delivered in a short time period, which is normally provided by the conventional fired pumping equipment. A continuous supply of Liquid Nitrogen can be delivered to site by specially designed Nitrogen transports.
