June 2011 Vol. 238 No. 6

Features

Dry Gas Seals For High-Pressure Gas Injection Compressors

The escalating worldwide demand for oil and the continuously rising prices are driving oil companies to explore new oil field resources. However, exploration also incurs increasing expense in terms of technology. Many of these projects have a common need in that natural gas, which is associated with crude oil, has to be re-injected into the reservoirs. The required injection pressure can reach values up to 800 bar (11,600 psi). Sophisticated ultra-high-pressure centrifugal compressors cover this application. The seal solution for the main shaft seal of the machines is based on the well-proven Dry Gas Seal (DGS) technology. This article describes Dry Gas Seal solutions in centri