Fort Worth committee debates standards for gas compressor rigs

by PegNews wire

It's not only the wells required to extract natural gas from the Barnett Shale that cause area citizens concern - it's also the noisy compressor stations that are required to pump the precious gas from the well to the main pipeline where it is then routed to Dr. Evil's secret lair. (Or somewhere like that.)

Currently, a Fort Worth city task force composed of 16 members - including former Fort Worth mayor Ken Barr, who now represents Chesapeake Energy - is trying to come to a consensus on standards relating to these compressor station facilities, which can include motors the size of those used in locomotives, it says here.

Turns out these babies can be as noisy as drill rigs, and furthermore they'll be around and operating long after the drill rigs have done their thing and are outta there. So if the noise level (measured in decibels above the ambient) exceeds a to-be-determined specified amount, contractors will have to build buildings around the compressor rigs to dampen the racket.

Which begs the question: who will design the buildings?

posted by JM