Regressions allow development of compressor cost estimation models

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Data used in this article included a large number of compressor stations built between 1992 and 2008. But some regions, such as the Midwest, still have relatively few pipelines. Among all compressor stations, 57% have capacities less than 8,000 hp, and only 2.73% are more than 40,000 hp.¹ Uneven distribution and a limited number of compressor stations with large capacities may cause estimation biases.

An unknown starting year and unknown construction period cause a biased cost by adjusting along with the chemical plant index. US natural gas pipelines’ region definitions are based on federal regions of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other region definitions, however, may be better for the distribution of US compressor stations.

The lack of some variables that produce cost differences, such as types of compressors and terrain, prevents conducting certain quantitative analyses. Missing data also include type of compressor station ownership: private or public.

Future work should collect more observations with more detailed information on the missing variables to improve the effectiveness of the cost estimation models.

References

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The authors