Understanding condensation and movement of liquid in pipelines

Liquid formation and transport in gas transmission pipelines affects many facets of operation, including pigging, gas throughput, and compressor fuel requirements. A discussion covers the engineering and economic effects of liquid formation in pipeline operations; key factors that must be considered in optimizing the economic performance of a pipeline system, i.e., compressor loading, pigging operations, and liquid recovery; a practical tool for prediction of liquid formation of gas pipeline systems; a case study based on a field case involving a gas transmission pipeline leading to a processing plant, which was using the gas as both a heating source and a feedstock; and a case study based on the analysis of a gas gathering and transmission pipeline network leading to a gas processing facility for the production of commercial natural gas as well as liquid products such as propane and butane. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the AGA 2003 Operations Conference (Orlando, FL 4/27-29/2003).