Editorial comment

Adrienne Blume, Editor

The gas processing industry continues to address the issue of emissions from gas production and processing. The design of amine treating units and processes is an important component of this strategy, as discussed in both the special report and plant design sections of this issue.

Improvements in CO₂ and acid gas removal during natural gas treating can translate into lower operating expenditures along with improved reliability, availability and maintainability of amine units, as explained by Shell Global Solutions and Energy Recovery. Additionally, a case study from Saudi Aramco examines the use of different antifoaming agents at an operating gas plant for improved gas sweetening operations.

Automation is another way in which plant operations and reliability are increasingly monitored, maintained and improved, leading to better-operating, cleaner and safer processing facilities. Fluor explains how the use of a main automation contractor on an LNG project in Asia limited capital and lifecycle costs and led to operational success.

Updates are also given on gas production and processing operations in the US Haynesville shale, which is seeing consolidation and strategic moves by operators active in the play; and on the expansion of the Sakhalin-2 LNG development in Russia amid additional sanctions by Western countries on the major gas-producing nation. GP