From Pipeline & Gas Journal/ October 2002/pipelineand gasjournalonline.com
Engineering Services and Expertise
View of the pipe stringing operations in preparation for
the Fox River crossing.
EN Engineering (ENE), headquartered in
Chicago, is a new Midwest
company formed in response to the growing need for a single company to
provide pipeline services ranging from initial design to final
commissioning. Company officials say ENE brings together engineers and
operators who have years of working experience in the energy industry. The
staff comes from Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, ANR Pipeline,
Unocal, Nicor Gas, a major LDC, and A. Epstein & Sons, International. ENE
recognizes all as leaders in
designing, building
and operating
transmission
and,
distribution pipeline
systems; performing engineering assessments; conducting
compliance audits and best practice program evaluations;
and
maintaining the corrosion
and system integrity programs of major pipelines and
utilities.
ENE provides engineering services to Nicor, Kinder Morgan, Dominion, Peoples Energy, NiSource, BP, Lakehead Pipeline, ExxonMobil, Wisconsin Gas and Vector Pipeline and other liquid and gas pipeline and distribution companies. Major projects to date include design, procurement and construction coordination for the Horizon pipeline, compressor station engineering and operational review for a major interstate pipeline company, designing all public improvements, system improvements and main replacements for Nicor Gas as well as maintaining the corrosion control program for Nicor Gas’ distribution, transmission, storage and underground storage tank systems.
The Horizon Pipeline Project in Chicago is a joint venture of Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL) and Nicor, Inc. The pipeline connects two NGPL pipelines that move natural gas to the suburbs in the Chicago area to meet growing customer demand of Nicor Gas, a Nicor Inc. company, serving the area.
The project entailed installing 28 miles of new 36-inch OD high-pressure pipe, a 9,700 HP compressor station, six gas measurement stations and related facilities. The route of the lines traverses through DuPage, Kane, Cook and McHenry Counties in Illinois.
The pipeline is constructed of welded steel and is designed to operate at a maximum operating pressure of 800 psig. During construction, a 1,200 foot horizontal directional drill was required at the Fox River in McHenry County. The entrance and exit points of the drill were located in heavily populated suburbs, which required extensive coordination efforts by EN Engineering. In addition, 22 of the 28 miles of pipeline were constructed in an electrical power line right-of-way that also contained two other large pipelines. Construction space was at a premium and required the use of hot bends and numerous innovative conventional boring and directional drilling techniques for successful installation. The project also included a gas turbine driven centrifugal compressor unit ISO rated at 9,700 HP. The compressor unit design included gas separation and cooling, two filter separators and two high-pressure gas coolers, and modification of the existing station controls system and software for the station supervisory computer.
EN Engineering successfully completed their work on the Horizon Project in the spring of 2002 and it is now fully operational.