News
L.A. Turbine Commissions First ARES AMB Turboexpander-Compressor at New Bakken Shale NGL Plant
L.A. Turbine (LAT) has announced the commissioning of its first ARES Active Magnetic Bearing (AMB) Turboexpander-Compressor within a newly established natural gas liquid (NGL) processing plant in the Bakken Shale Play of North Dakota. The official machine start-up and gas flow occurred on October 29. Designed for a plant flow rate of 200MMSCFD, the ARES AMB Turboexpander-Compressor machine features the industry’s first skid-mounted AMB controller and PLC design. L.A. Turbine will continue to share turboexpander and AMB controller performance data updates from the NGL installation site in the coming months.
“This is a milestone moment for L.A. Turbine and for the industry,” said Danny Mascari, president, L.A. Turbine. “In 2016, our founder, John Maskaluk, challenged his engineering team to develop the next generation of turboexpanders using AMB technology. Today this dream is fulfilled with the commissioning of the first LAT ARES AMB turboexpander in North Dakota.”
The USA designed, engineered and built ARES AMB turboexpander is the result of a partnership between L.A. Turbine and Waukesha Magnetic Bearings. Until now, AMB controllers had to be installed in a building away from the skid installation site. With this new AMB controller technology, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies have greater flexibility with the plant site location and layout, capital costs are significantly less, and the machine can be delivered in a shorter timeframe.
“We are proud to be partnering with L.A. Turbine on this technological advance for turboexpanders,” commented Brian Draeger, Director of Sales for Waukesha Bearings. “The commissioning of this first unit is the realization of much hard work and a commitment to delivering innovation to the gas processing industry.”
End-users realize immediate operational benefits with the ARES AMB turboexpander due to the ease of machine installation and commissioning. Plus, less time and labor are required for the start-up and ongoing maintenance, which translates to financial savings. If a turboexpander operational issue occurs, troubleshooting can begin immediately via the remote access capability of the Waukesha Magnetic Bearings Zephyr® controller.
