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Show I' ' h : ' ' ' ' ' ' ''' ''.''.' ' ' " '.. V ' . " - ' ; .. . v.-. ' ; - - ' " ' ; ' ?-:,i'.VC;"l-.0-,"' -s.'.- : .Wl 1-:'!;:-;V",-L'; ''':'' ''"' '. :Tr'r '"""TZV. r- - s r ."."." rr'it-"M-!yw.. ... .m. ,. ' - ' ' " - i K;--.' :-L: ';'.'"'',' .-.., " . 9 i ',' "' T" C: "r 'T"1"'" -' ''--"-" - " r' , ' . ". ' . . . ' .' ; r ' - , ' '' ' y . ' ' 1", T" -" " .. ' 1 ' " '"'ir ' 1 &t. -w. . . , !: : - . . . , ' .. . ' "''-''-"-Tf'U'llllMMf llli J." - - , '--" .-'- .. . . .. 'J, -" HI i - ... .. iMl I., . . w El Paso Natural Gas Pumping Station which borders Highway 1C0 south of Moab captures interest of many . passcrsby. Superinten dent of the installation, James Hill, welcomes those who stop in for a tour of the meticulous facilities. El Pgsq Ptacav E!eor Mmh Helps jECeep By Maxin Newell Twenty miles south of Moab is a neat little community' com-munity' by the side of the road which captures the interest of most Highway 160 travelers. ' The little cluster of homes is a part of the El Paso Natural Gas Company's Com-pany's huge pumping station sta-tion facilities that keep gas flowing from wells in Wyoming, and Utah's An-eth An-eth Field, to users of a 7-state 7-state region between Mexico Mex-ico and Canada. A tour of the installation installa-tion belies the small staff of ,12. employes that keep-it keep-it in operation. Half of the staff must live near the plant for 24- hour call, which is why the six modern1 mod-ern1 homes were built 20 miles from the nearest municipality. Kelly Hill was recently transferred from Green River, Wyoming, to serve as superintendent at the installation. He and his wife occupy one of the homes. Other residents are families of Charles . Graham, Gra-ham, James Brady, Bee Carey, . LeRoy Whitner & Ronald King. The pumping station is one of two duel operation systems in ElPaso's Northwest North-west Division. There, are 19 compressor plants at 100 mile intervals plus 12 pipeline divisions, but only at Moab, and Poca-tello, Poca-tello, Idaho, are the two operations combined at one station. The massiveness of the equipment at the plant is fascinating. There , are four 2,000 hp TLA6 Clark supercharged 6-cyl engines that operate on six 17-inch pistons per engine. The engines are rotated at 1,200-hourr working internals inter-nals to even the usage. They can run an average of 10,000 tox 16,000 hours . without major repairs, and have averaged 11,000 hrs. since the plant was built in 1955;. Big cooling fans cool the water that recir- ..oulates through; the en-: gines. The engines are used as needed, but is is not uncommon. ' in cold winter months, when gas demands are heaviest, for all four to be on 24-hour duty. Four huge compressors shimmy slightly on their concrete moorings as they suck in gas from Aneth, over 100 pipeline miles a-way, a-way, .and discharge .it .to users over the company's 2,000-mile . system. Three scrubbers cflean the gas before it enters the compressors com-pressors -at .sub-zero temperatures, tem-peratures, and then emerges emerg-es hot enough to warm the thick steel outlet pipes. All portions" of the wayside way-side facilities are spotlessly spotless-ly clean, and freshly paint- t ."' ''""." '' ' ' f ' 'T ' i' , . VS i f I f X f,-, - I i ' .' ,"' "" , ! - ' ' t "" r-""' Superintendent Kelly Hill is dwarfed by one of the four huge engines that operate the plant. It is not uncommon during heavy use months in the winter for all four engines to operate around the clock. ed in cheery light colors. Floors are cleaned and waxed weekly; even in the engine room not a speck of oil or dust is seen. 'El Paso employes are proud of their housekeeping, house-keeping, Mr. Hill explained. explain-ed. It's a safety factor, as well as a more pleasant working area. ' In a special parts room of the facility workmen have access to needed supplies, sup-plies, and a mobile tool cart stands by equipped with whenches and other tools guaged to fit the equipment. All gas that rums through the plant is metered, and even the portion por-tion used in the residences is charted. The El Paso unit is self contained.- Two . . 75--KW " generators manufacture electricity; el-ectricity; water is pumped from a 900-foot well, softened, soft-ened, and tested for purity each month in accordance with state regulations. A huge boiler provides steam for heat, which is piped into every building" to make working conditions condi-tions comfortable. Fira hydrants are provided, and an auxiliary pump can increase in-crease the water pressure to 50 pounds in case of emergency. Foam and powdered ohomicle extinguisher extin-guisher systems are standing stand-ing by in case of a plant fire. Communications are . icompany founded; via .. a special leaseline arrangement, arrange-ment, the Northwest Division Div-ision of ElPaso Gas employes em-ployes can push a button - for- . immediate contact with other stations without with-out going through an operator op-erator circuit. Two-way radio contacts are possible too; each 'official vehicle is radio equipped. Even TV is company in stalled, El Paso installed a private cable to the pumping station community, com-munity, which brings . three station reception through the Abajo Mountain Moun-tain station above Moa-ticello. Moa-ticello. A part of Mr. Hill's job at the pumping station is to check the pipeline under un-der his jurisdiction. The line is air patrolled every six weeks in a company-owned company-owned plane based in Salt Lake City. Mr. Hill flies with the pilot some 500-700 500-700 feet above the line looking for washes, exposed expos-ed pipe leaks and trespas-ers. trespas-ers. The latter are more frequent than one might think. Once in Wyoming, he recalled, they stopped one seismograph crew just in time to prevent a dyna mite charge from being ex ploded 6 feet from the pipeline. During aerial survey leaks in the line can be spotted toy little bust ibowls they create. A swarm of flies is also an indicator of a leak. For some reason the odor of the gas attracts flies in a swarm around leaks. Mr. Hill explained that safety valves, or stops, are installed every 15 miles along the line, where the gas may be blocked off for line repairs or work oni the plant. The stops are also a safety factor in case . of an explosion or other emergency. Such as the dynamite charge near the line might have caused. There is an old-fashioned friendliness in the 6-house 6-house community where employes and their families fam-ilies live. Mr. Hill said they had no sooner arrived arriv-ed than women arranged get-acquainted coffees for Plant, repairman, James Brady, finds ample supplies sup-plies in the well-stocked parts room to keep the . massive equipment in top shape. f . p ft - - v ' ' I - V:---- .'! .:.-' i I V " i ; ' -r-' ? II- t- : -; I t ml . jr Wirt til m ij ' Mr. Hill checks vibration of one .of four giant compressors com-pressors that send gas from Aneth Field in San. ; Juan county to users in the 7nstate NW El Paso District. Gas is subzero temperature in the top valve; after compression it hot enough to warm the bottom valve as it is sped on its way. his wife. As a whole "community "com-munity life" is confined to weekends, though. Days are filled with household duties, and the 3-meal-a-day routine which goes with living next door to your husband's business. Children are bussed to school in Monticello, 31-miles 31-miles away, for the El Paso plant is in San Juan county. The community residents drive to nearby Moab to shop, attend church, and enjoy entertainment enter-tainment facilities, on days off and weekends. Mr. Hill is already getting get-ting acquainted in Moab. He has golfed at the Moab Golf and Country Club where he met several area businessmen, and has applied ap-plied for a membership transfer from the Green River, Wyoming chapter to the Moab Elks Lodge. |