Purity Gas has been selected as the preferred partner for a large-scale, multi-site deployment of on-site nitrogen gas generation systems in Alberta’s Athabasca Oil Sands. The eight-figure contract follows a successful year-long pilot with a major integrated oil and gas company, and installations of the company’s NitroVault™ enclosures are now underway at multiple sites.
The company says demand for on-site nitrogen continues to grow as operators look for more reliable and cost-efficient alternatives to delivered nitrogen.
Alan Hopkins, co-founder of Purity Gas, said large industrial users are increasingly turning to the company to reduce costs and increase reliability.
“Across all sectors, businesses are hyper focused on finding efficiencies. We have been in the nitrogen gas market a long time, engineering custom generation systems, managing transformative deployments for the largest of enterprises, and providing great customer service before, during, and after installation.”
Purity Gas’s NITROCENTER® and NitroVault™ systems replace traditional bulk liquid nitrogen deliveries — a model the company argues is costly and vulnerable to interruptions.
The financial impact, they say, can be substantial. Brett Rogers, Sales Manager for Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical, cited one new client in Fort McMurray expected to cut nitrogen spending dramatically.
“Any large user of nitrogen gas benefits from controlling their own supply. In the remote and harsh environments common to the oil and gas sector, generating nitrogen gas on site is the only logical choice. With deliveries, besides facing high costs, you have constant worry. If the trucks are late or don’t show up, the financial impact is usually measured in millions of dollars. There is simply no need to take that risk when you can have a reliable, continuous supply and total independence.”
Rogers said that transportation can account for up to half the cost of nitrogen, especially in remote regions. Hopkins added that long-distance hauling also creates unnecessary environmental impact.
“There are 265 miles of road between the oil sands operations in Fort McMurray and the nearest fractional distillation plant that produces liquid nitrogen. Many users receive several deliveries a day. Imagine just one truck travelling 530 miles a day – this alone represents almost 800 tons of CO2 emissions. Now imagine hundreds of trucks travelling this route. We offer an alternative.”
Nitrogen is essential throughout oil and gas operations, used to displace oxygen, purge pipelines, maintain pressure, test systems, and prevent hazardous environments during production, processing, and storage.
Co-founder Chris Styles said Purity Gas has been ramping up its presence in Alberta to support both current and future deployments.
“As our energy sector clients focus efforts on continuous improvement by investing in our technology, we’ll continue to invest in their success.”
Styles added that while the energy sector is a major focus, Purity Gas’s systems serve a broad range of industries.
“We’re talking about energy production today, but we work with all engineering disciplines and design entirely bespoke solutions. Our systems are operating around heavy equipment in hazardous, challenging environments, as well as in carefully controlled zones for food-safe production or advanced industrial manufacturing. Our clients trust the breadth of our experience.”
