OILFIELD service company Dominion Gas has invested more than £2million in the development of ground-breaking technology aimed at giving it a competitive edge in the sector.
The portable gas trans-fill system (PGTS) is essentially a gas-filling plant packaged in moveable 20-foot containers and has been designed to support the Aberdeen-based company’s oil and gas clients anywhere in the world.
Dominion project director Russel Davies said: “In simple terms we are taking a gas-filling plant to the client’s site, as opposed to moving large numbers of gas cylinders to a permanent site.”
At present, when large volumes of gas mixtures are required in a remote location, gas must be prepared and bottled under high pressure at the firm’s nearest gas plant. The mixture must then be transported to the desired location which is both costly and potentially hazardous.
The new system comprises a set of containerised modules which when connected together allow for empty cylinders to be filled with compressed-gas mixtures.
Mr Davies said: “We believe that the PGTS is the first system of its kind in the world. The system is designed to operate both on and offshore in the harshest of environments.”
A patent is pending on the product, which will be manufactured in the UK by specialist gas-processing firm IGAS, a long-time business partner of Dominion. The system is expected to be operational in Ghana, west Africa later this month.
Doug Crighton, managing director of Dominion Gas, said: “The PGTS will play a central role in our plans for global expansion. The technology will allow us to establish a presence in a new location extremely quickly without having to take on the risks associated with investing in permanent equipment and infrastructure straight away.”
Dominion Gas, which has a turnover of £22million-plus and employs 85 staff, supplies diving, welding, industrial, laboratory, test and calibration gases. It expanded its products and services into the liquid, cryogenic, chemical and acid-tank business with the acquisition of Argon Isotanks last November.