Simulation on compressor station operation of Trans-Asia Gas Pipeline based on gas consumption optimization

Among the operating cost of long-distance natural gas pipeline, the gas consumption of compressor stations accounts for more than 50%. Therefore, it is of great significance to optimize the operation of compressor stations based on energy consumption optimization. In this paper, Gazli Compressor Station of Trans-Asia Gas Pipeline (GCS) was taken as an example. In view of its high-temperature gas transmission and special operating conditions with matched throughputs and compressor units, the changing laws of gas consumption under different operating conditions were simulated and calculated based on SPS simulation software and historical operation data. Then, the additional gas consumption caused by different working conditions was analyzed quantitatively. It is shown that the gas consumption of the compressor unit is increased by 6% if the natural gas temperature at the inlet of the compressor station rises by 5 ℃. In a certain range of throughput, daily gas consumption is increased by 1×10⁴-3×10⁴ m³ if the low-efficiency dual-unit operating mode is adopted. Finally, the compressor unit matching process scheme for optimizing the energy consumption of compressor station based on monthly gas transmission plan was formulated. The research results can provide reference for studying gas consumption optimization of compressor stations along the long-distance natural gas pipelines.