Nitrogen gas is one of the primary products in the oil and gas industry, from the initial drilling of the well to the delivery of the finished product via pipeline, truck, and train to the user.
As a naturally occurring gas, nitrogen can safely be used for multitude of services in the energy industry. It has properties that make it an ideal tool: it is inert, nonreactive, nontoxic, and noncorrosive.
Nitrogen services are various: nitrogen can be shipped as a cryogenic liquid, compressed as a dry gas, or filtered from the atmosphere on site using a nitrogen membrane unit. Most commonly, it is delivered in bulk as a cryogenic liquid, then converted to a warm gas using a diesel-fired heat exchanger or non-fired flameless nitrogen pumping unit. It can be delivered at temperatures ranging from -150 to +400˚C and at pressures from atmospheric to 10,000 psi. Recent developments also allow for the use of nitrogen filtering membranes as a method of gas delivery for special projects, including low-rate delivery, underbalanced drilling, and deliveries to remote locations.
| Nitrogen Properties (N2 Properties): | |
|---|---|
| Density (Gas) = | 1.251 g/L |
| Density (Liquid) = | 808 Kg/M3 |
| Boiling Point = | -195.73˚C |
Application method depends on the project size and scale, with economics and supply demands being a major consideration. Nitrogen applications can range in size from a two-hour operation involving one pumper and operator to projects lasting months with numerous pumpers and transports. Some projects require very large volumes of nitrogen delivered in a short time period, which is normally provided by the conventional fired pumping equipment. A continuous supply of liquid nitrogen can be delivered to site by specially designed nitrogen transports.