News
01-Mar-2010
Flotech Helps Bring Kupe to Life
Globally successful South Auckland based engineered solutions company Flotech has turned their attention closer to home to help bring the Kupe project to life.
New Zealand's own Flotech has followed a string of successful global multi-million dollar deals by securing two separate deals with Origin Energy to build six huge customized gas compressors as part of the onshore development for the Kupe project in Taranaki.
Flotech, has delivered on over $12M of work with Origin Energy Ltd, developing and engineering three different types of customized gas compressors that are critical to the Kupe gas processing operation. Flotech proved to be the only compressor packager in Australasia capable of delivering such specialized equipment – putting them well ahead of the competition, by being able to offer locally based support.
Director of Compression Technology Steve Rowntree said, "One of the exciting aspects of Kupe for Flotech is that it is a large scale project in our own backyard. While Flotech is known globally for its engineering solutions, and the majority of our work is offshore, we jumped at this opportunity to get involved in the Kupe project here in New Zealand. It also demonstrates that the New Zealand oil and gas industry no longer has to look exclusively overseas for world-class compression expertise, because world-leading expertise is already here."
Flotech's contracts with Origin have maximised New Zealand involvement on the Kupe project, with all fabrication undertaken in Flotech's Auckland workshops, along with engineering, process design and pulsation studies with input from other NZ-based engineering firms.
The Kupe packages are unique in terms of size and scale, with two being 1550 kW ‘flash-gas' compressors, made from stainless steel and utilizing medium voltage variable speed drives. This enables energy-efficient operation with large turndown capability to cope with the reducing flow requirements over the expected life of the Kupe plant. The next two compressors in the process are 1000 kW ‘de-ethaniser overhead' compressors, which operate at cryogenic temperatures meaning they are engineered from special materials able to withstand extremely low temperatures. Finally, in October 2008, Origin Energy increased their order to include two 1100 kW single stage "sales gas" compressors. These are the last stage of the gas compression, necessary to push the gas into the pipeline. There are 2 x 100% units in each application, allowing for maximum running time and productivity; all six were delivered in time to meet the overall project schedule.
Built at Flotech workshops in South Auckland, the enormous compressors & cooling systems were transported to Taranaki by road. Now assembled, the de-ethaniser and flash gas compressors cover a combined plot area of approximately 17m x 32m, with the sales gas compressors covering approximately 10m x 12m on a separate site.
Rowntree added, "We are immensely proud to be involved on the Kupe project, and excited by the opportunity to use our global experience to help meet the growing demand for energy in New Zealand over the next few decades."
The Kupe project is currently New Zealand's second largest gas field under development, after Pohokura, and once online and running is expected to meet up to 15% of New Zealand's gas energy demand.
Flotech has been steadily forging a global reputation as a provider of leading edge engineered solutions to the biogas, gas compression, and heat exchange industries. Having doubled in size over the last two years, Flotech is increasingly a highly successful New Zealand business on the global export stage, and now the New Zealand stage.