American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2016 - 110

IndustryFocus: Companies, People and Products

Electric Clearance Pocket Optimizes Compression
DENVER-To help oil and gas companies maximize compressor throughput,
HOERBIGER reports it has released a
world-first electric, stepless variable
clearance pocket (eVCP).
"With eVCP, our customers are able
to automatically adjust to field conditions
to optimize engine load and compressor
throughput," outlines John Metcalf, senior
vice president of sales and engineering at
HOERBIGER Corporation of America.
Most stepless variable volume pockets
in the gas compression industry have a
manually operated hand wheel, HOERBIGER notes. The company says the
wheel may be difficult to turn when the
compressor is at operating pressure, so
the compressor may have to be shut

down and depressurized before the clearance volume can be adjusted.
The innovation that makes the eVCP
possible is its ability to overcome the
gas pressure to move the pocket piston,
HOERBIGER says. To make electric
actuation possible, motor torque is converted to linear force using a gear box
and lead (power) screw, the company
describes. The lead screw works because
it is capable of withstanding the repeated
hammer blows generated by the compressed gas, HOERBIGER says, citing
an inspection that found no signs of
wear on the screw's hybrid nut after
8,000 hours of run time.
Field tests confirm that the eVCP effectively automates the variable-volume
clearance pocket, the company says. The
resulting capacity increase can add up
quickly, HOERBIGER emphasizes, noting that increasing throughput by 1
MMcf/d can earn $3.5 million over five
years at a price of $2.00 an Mcf.
For
information,
visit
www.hoerbiger.com.
❒
This electric variable clearance pocket from
HOERBIGER automatically adjusts to optimize engine load and compressor throughput. HOERBIGER says it has been proven
in ﬁeld tests that began in April 2015.

NCS Multistage System
Performs Record Frac
HOUSTON-NCS Multistage LLC announces a record 92-stage completion in
the Altares BC Montney formation, executed
using the company's Multistage Unlimited™
pinpoint fracturing system.
The job was completed in a single trip
with 9 million pounds of proppant placed
at an average pump rate of 22 barrels a
minute, NCS relates. The average time for
each stage was shorter than two hours.
The well has a true vertical depth of 7,500
feet and a total measured depth of 17,300
feet, the company adds.
Don Battenfelder, NCS Multistage's
president of North American operations,
says, "This job illustrates the successful
evolution of our tool designs. We continue
to make progress in developing bottomhole assemblies that facilitate unlimited
frac stages in even the most challenging
well conditions."
For information, visit www.ncsmultistage.com.
r

Kristin R.B. White Named
To Who's Who In Energy
DENVER-The Denver Business Journal
has named Kristin R.B. White, who manages
the Denver office of law firm Jackson
Kelly PLLC, to its 2016-17 edition of
Who's Who in Energy.
According to Jackson Kelly, the publication recognizes key players for their
commitment to professional excellence
and contributions to
the energy industry
in the Denver metropolitan area and
throughout Colorado. Honorees include attorneys,
service providers,
financiers, and educators.
White focuses
her practice on ocWHITE
cupational safety
and health, as well as employment law.
She counsels and defends clients in regulatory workplace safety matters and regularly
acts as crisis management counsel for employers, Jackson Kelly says. White has
defended clients before the Occupational
Safety & Health Review Commission and
the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review
Commission, and represented them before
state occupational safety and health act
agencies, the firm concludes.
r

Subsea Services Alliance To Simplify Abandonment
HOUSTON-The Subsea Services Alliance, a contractual collaboration between
Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. and
Schlumberger, reports it has begun developing the first riserless, open-water abandonment module (ROAM).
The 18¾-inch large-bore system will
enhance well abandonment capacity from
a well intervention vessel by allowing
tubing to be pulled in open water in a safe
and environmentally contained manner,
the alliance says.
"The ROAM system will support openwater well abandonment operations while
employing well control and environmental
protection measures," says Owen Kratz,
Helix's president and chief executive officer.
"This system will allow Helix to expand
its open-water tubing-pulling operations
to new regions, and further extend the capabilities of its diverse fleet."
Mike Garding, president of OneSubsea,
a Schlumberger company, adds, "We are
taking this step in response to a market re-

110 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

quirement to lower the cost of subsea abandonment. The ROAM system will extend
our capability into true lower completion
abandonment, and also reduce the uncertainty of well integrity that customers face
when they proceed to upper completion
abandonment operations."
The alliance indicates the system, which
will complement existing intervention riser
systems and subsea intervention lubricators,
is expected to be available to customers in
the third quarter of 2017.
For information, visit www.subseaservicesalliance.com.
r

Coming In December
The Colorado Oil & Gas Association held its 2016 annual meeting
Nov. 2 at the Marriott City Center in
Denver. See complete convention
coverage in the December issue of
The American Oil & Gas Reporter.

American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2016

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