Midstream Center organizes faculty field trip to Energy Transfer’s NGL fractionation facilities in Mont Belvieu
March 01, 2021 | by Shelly Vitanza
Dr. Brian Craig, dean of the College of Engineering, and five faculty members from the College of Engineering, were given a tour of Energy Transfer’s NGL fractionation facilities in Mont Belvieu, Texas.
LU’s Center for Midstream Management and Science planned the trip to complement the research of Dr.
Daniel Chen, professor in the Dan F. Smith Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. The Midstream Center is funding research that Chen is leading in a joint effort with a midstream company. The research will develop a natural gas liquids fractionation optimization program to link facility operations to real-time commodity pricing to maximize facility profits. Completion of the research projects is targeted for mid-2022.
“Interestingly, this recent focus on NGL fractionation operations resulted from the Midstream Center’s sponsorship of a three-day midstream engineering operations course for 15 LU faculty members last fall, put on by GPA Midstream Association,” said Thomas Kalb, director of the Midstream Center. “We continue to promote direct interactions and relationships with midstream companies to better enable our faculty to identify and solve today’s problems in technology and operations.”
The Texas legislature established and funded the Midstream Center in 2019 to serve as a bridge between Lamar University and the midstream industry, including oil and gas transportation, natural gas processing, terminals and storage. The Midstream Center seeks to identify technological midstream issues and bring LU’s knowledge and research capabilities to bear to solve these concerns, enabling companies to reduce cost and enhance revenues, profits and safety.
LU’s Center for Midstream Management and Science planned the trip to complement the research of Dr.
Daniel Chen, professor in the Dan F. Smith Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. The Midstream Center is funding research that Chen is leading in a joint effort with a midstream company. The research will develop a natural gas liquids fractionation optimization program to link facility operations to real-time commodity pricing to maximize facility profits. Completion of the research projects is targeted for mid-2022. “Interestingly, this recent focus on NGL fractionation operations resulted from the Midstream Center’s sponsorship of a three-day midstream engineering operations course for 15 LU faculty members last fall, put on by GPA Midstream Association,” said Thomas Kalb, director of the Midstream Center. “We continue to promote direct interactions and relationships with midstream companies to better enable our faculty to identify and solve today’s problems in technology and operations.”
The Texas legislature established and funded the Midstream Center in 2019 to serve as a bridge between Lamar University and the midstream industry, including oil and gas transportation, natural gas processing, terminals and storage. The Midstream Center seeks to identify technological midstream issues and bring LU’s knowledge and research capabilities to bear to solve these concerns, enabling companies to reduce cost and enhance revenues, profits and safety.