Project Description:

Located in Kern County, the Elk Hills Oil Field is one of the largest oil fields in California, having produced over a billion barrels of oil in almost 100 years of operation. It is also one of the largest gas-producing oil fields in the state.

The 1C Compressor Station Project was installed to increase gas handling capacity and accommodate greater oil production from the Elk Hills field. SPEC Services provided the engineering and design for the station as part of the EPC team led by the compressor packaging firm, CSI. The project was fast-tracked and completed less than 14 months from project award. To support the expedited construction process, grading, foundation, and power building drawings were issued for permitting and construction early, as were primary piping iso’s and electrical equipment specifications.

An innovative combination of compressors was selected to effectively handle produced gas at varying flow rates and four different supply suction pressures. To meet the range of flow conditions, two large capacity 2000 HP vacuum gas screw compressors were selected in combination with two downstream 2500 HP high-pressure reciprocating compressors. Due to low utility power availability in the area, two Variable Frequency Drives (VFD's) were provided for starting the compressors. Flow control was accomplished through the use of the VFD's and the screw compressor slide valve controls. The project also included associated gas coolers, gas dehydration system, and associated separators and utilities.