Midstream Gas Processing

TEG dehydration is the standard process for meeting pipeline moisture specifications, and the glycol reconcentrator is the primary fired equipment in the system. CPE provides reconcentrator design and specification, performance assessment (evaluating glycol purity, firetube fouling, and still column condition), firetube inspection and remaining life analysis, and enhanced stripping system design (Stahl column, stripping gas injection, vacuum regeneration) for applications requiring very low outlet moisture.

Glycol dehydration units emit BTEX stripped from the gas stream along with water vapor, regulated under EPA NESHAP Subpart HH and state air quality programs. CPE designs emissions control systems for glycol unit exhaust - including condensers, flash tank vapor recovery, and thermal oxidizers or enclosed combustors for BTEX destruction.

Larger gas processing plants and NGL fractionation complexes may operate boiler houses supplying steam to multiple process users. CPE provides boiler selection and specification, performance assessment and efficiency optimization, multi-boiler load management, and fuel gas quality management - addressing the heavier hydrocarbons, varying Btu content, and potential liquid slugs in midstream fuel gas that affect burner performance.

Many midstream steam systems have been incrementally expanded as processing capacity increased, resulting in undersized headers, inadequate condensate return, excessive venting, and poor trap maintenance. CPE’s assessments quantify the energy and cost impact of these inefficiencies and prioritize corrective actions - including steam distribution, condensate return, trap assessment, feedwater treatment, and insulation surveys.

Midstream emissions control spans combustion equipment (NOx, CO, VOC from heaters, reboilers, and boilers), compressor engines (lean-burn precombustion chamber optimization, rich-burn NSCR catalyst systems, gas turbine SCR and CO catalyst), glycol unit BTEX and VOC (condensers, flash tank vapor recovery, enclosed combustors), and flare and combustion device design for routine and emergency gas disposal. CPE addresses compliance under NSPS Subparts Dc, JJJJ, KKKK, and OOOOa/OOOOb, NESHAP Subparts HH and ZZZZ, and state oil and gas emissions regulations.

CPE also designs piping, equipment, and operational procedures that minimize fugitive methane emission sources and specifies low-emission alternatives to high-bleed pneumatic devices and gas-driven chemical injection pumps.

Midstream gas processing is fired equipment work. The amine reboilers, glycol reconcentrators, line heaters, hot oil systems, and compressor station waste heat recovery installations that define the sector are all combustion and heat transfer equipment - and they require the same engineering rigor as the process heaters and boilers in a refinery or chemical plant. The difference is context: midstream facilities are often remote, lean-staffed, and incrementally expanded, which demands equipment designs that are reliable, maintainable, and adaptable to changing conditions.

The combination of specialist fired equipment engineering, amine and glycol system thermal design, compressor station waste heat recovery, and distributed emissions compliance - delivered by a firm that understands how these facilities actually operate - is what sets CPE apart in the midstream sector.