Demonstration of the Transition from Hydrocarbons to Inert Gas Technology for Gas Blanketing and Purge in the Gas Processing Industry

At gas plants such as the Edson Gas Plant, sales gas (primarily methane) is used in several plant safety functions, notably to purge continuously ignited flare stacks and to blanket low pressure tanks to prevent contamination and air ingress. The use of methane in these applications leads to continuous flare combustion emissions as well as the venting and purging of methane to the atmosphere. Repsol is proposing to implement inert gas technology to replace methane with on-site generated nitrogen in these applications, eliminating the associated emissions. This technology will represent the first known retrofit of an operating gas processing facility to use inert gas in Alberta and deploys commercial nitrogen production equipment in an innovative application to demonstrate a transition from hydrocarbon use in the gas processing industry. The project can eliminate tank venting of methane, which is a standard practice for gas plants in Alberta.