The smart gas plant: An integrated, intelligent gathering and processing super system

Midstream operators typically own both the gathering networks that transport natural gas and the downstream treating and processing facilities that convert this raw feed into marketable products, such as residue gas and Y-grade NGL. The optimization of both the gathering system and processing facilities—with their multitude of associated meters, commercial contracts and variable commodity pricing—in an integrated fashion is challenging to carry out in real time. System size, complexity and data requirements can complicate the real-time optimization of these facilities. However, the overall benefits of this optimized natural gas gathering and processing super system can be significant in te