Compressor solution built to survive the North West Shelf

Woodside Petroleum - the largest operator of oil and gas production in Australia and the country’s largest independent dedicated oil and gas company - has awarded Compressed Air and Power Solutions (CAPS) Australia a supply contract to provide an air compressor package for the new $5 billion North Rankin B Platform.

For CAPS Australia, the North Rankin B project is similar in scope to that undertaken for Woodside’s North Rankin A Platform several years ago. “As part of Woodside’s continuous improvement and ‘lessons learnt’ policy, CAPS incorporated the feedback from Woodside and developed a package that contains significant design improvements,” said Alan Kemp, senior project engineer for CAPS Australia.

In selecting CAPS, Woodside continues to support Australian industry. The package was designed and built by CAPS, with the majority of parts being sourced in Australia. CAPS will be supplying a solution containing three 160 kW Ingersoll Rand rotary screw air compressors along with two air dryers and four filters that have been designed and built specifically to meet Woodside’s need for a 30-year life cycle.

Due to the extreme climatic conditions on and around the North West Shelf, many custom features have been designed into the compressors to handle the corrosive environment surrounding the platform. The unit’s oil and air coolers will be purpose built with unique anodised surfaces and the internal oil handling system will be made of duplex and super duplex stainless steels. The entire external enclosure will be made from passivated 316 stainless steel. In consideration of the location and ecology, the coolant, lubricant and drying media chosen for use in the machinery are non-hazardous and eco-friendly.

“To ensure maximum uptime and reliability, the package will have a centralised state-of-the-art programmable logic controller (PLC) which will oversee the three compressors and two dryers, linked to a range of data monitoring and analysis instruments. The PLC will include emergency power supplies to ensure minimal disruption even in the worst cases,” said Kemp.

To simplify installation on the platform, CAPS also designed, fabricated and supplied a special lifting beam as part of the overall solution to allow for safe and easy handling.

“CAPS is proud to be a preferred supplier to Woodside and has demonstrated its capability to supply a quality product under stringent specifications,” Kemp concluded. “Our national presence and quality product portfolio will allow us to provide ongoing products and aftermarket service to Woodside for many years to come.”