Variable-speed drives going to Utah gas plant

July 5, 2011
Chipeta Processing LLC, a subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum Corp., has commissioned Converteam, Pittsburgh, a power-conversion specialist, to supply a complete variable-speed drive system to control two natural gas compressor trains at the Chipeta gas processing plant in Utah.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, July 5
-- Chipeta Processing LLC, a subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum Corp., has commissioned Converteam, Pittsburgh, a power-conversion specialist, to supply a complete variable-speed drive system to control two natural gas compressor trains at the Chipeta gas processing plant in Utah. The vendor estimates a savings in energy costs of $2 million/year.

The Converteam variable-speed drive technology is an arch-flash rated, 36-pulse PWM MV7000 drive designed to operate two 32,000-hp, 12-kv synchronous motors over a range of 900 to 1,800 rpm, according to the company.

The Chipeta plant will have cryogenic and refrigeration processing capacity totaling 750 MMcfd. The electric-driven compression and centralized zero-emission dehydration units minimize emissions and increase on-line performance, according to Converteam.