Midstream verticals

Rotating equipment across the midstream value chain.

Three primary midstream verticals, each with distinct equipment populations, failure modes, and operational context. Purpose-built monitoring for each — not generic industrial IoT repackaged.

Vertical 01

Gas Processing — Centrifugal Compressors & Turboexpanders

Gas processing facilities run centrifugal compressor trains and turboexpanders as their highest-consequence rotating equipment. A surge event or bearing failure on a main gas compressor can halt throughput for days, with repair costs and lost production running into millions. Midstreamly monitors these assets continuously against their SCADA historian data — detecting surge precursors, bearing wear trends, and seal degradation hours before a reportable event.

Equipment covered

Centrifugal compressors Turboexpanders Gas turbine drivers Electric motor drivers Interstage coolers / fans

Monitored failure modes

Surge and stall precursors — pressure oscillation patterns preceding surge Radial and thrust bearing wear — BPFO/BPFI spectral progression Dry gas seal degradation — seal panel differential pressure trending Impeller fouling — shift in operating point on performance map Rotor imbalance — 1× vibration amplitude increase

Midstreamly is designed to support PHMSA pipeline safety integrity management program (IMP) documentation for facilities operating under 49 CFR Part 195. Condition monitoring data on compressor train integrity can provide supporting evidence for IMP risk assessment and equipment history records. This does not constitute PHMSA compliance certification.

Large centrifugal compressors at a gas processing facility

Live scenario — surge precursor detection

Alert fired 14 hr before surge event

Vertical 02

Pipeline Pump Stations — Multi-Stage Centrifugal Pumps

Pipeline pump stations run multi-stage centrifugal pumps at high operating pressure, often with limited on-site personnel. Cavitation, bearing wear, and mechanical seal failure are the primary unplanned downtime causes. API 610 defines the performance and reliability baseline for these pumps — Midstreamly monitors against those standards without requiring any equipment replacement.

Equipment covered

Multi-stage centrifugal pumps Electric motor drivers Gearboxes Booster pumps Lube oil systems

Monitored failure modes

Cavitation onset — characteristic high-frequency noise signature in vibration spectrum Rolling element bearing wear — BPFO/BPFI progression in envelope analysis Mechanical seal degradation — process fluid leakage indicators Impeller wear and imbalance — 1× vibration and hydraulic instability Motor electrical faults — current signature analysis where available

Midstreamly anomaly thresholds for centrifugal pump monitoring can be configured to align with API 610 vibration limits and ISO 20816 velocity severity bands. Default threshold templates reflect Zone B/C transition criteria as reference points. Facility-specific thresholds should be validated by the responsible reliability engineer.

Multi-stage centrifugal pumps at a pipeline pump station

ISO 20816 severity reference — pump bearing housing

Zone A

<1.8 mm/s

Zone B

1.8–4.5 mm/s

Zone C

4.5–11.2 mm/s

Zone D

>11.2 mm/s

ISO 20816-3 Class II — medium foundations, >15 kW machines

Vertical 03

NGL Fractionation — Motors, Gearboxes & Agitators

NGL fractionation facilities operate refrigeration compressors, column reboiler pumps, and agitator motors in continuous service. The combination of H2S sour gas service and refrigerant-laden process streams creates operating conditions that accelerate bearing wear and corrosion compared to dry gas facilities. Standard vibration baselines built for sweet service applications often underestimate degradation rates in H2S-present environments.

Equipment covered

Refrigeration compressors Column reboiler pumps Agitator motors Gearboxes Propane & ethane pumps

Monitored failure modes

Accelerated bearing corrosion in H2S sour gas service Sulfide stress cracking (SSC) risk indicators — corrosion-fatigue vibration signatures Gearbox tooth wear and mesh frequency harmonics Agitator motor winding thermal degradation Refrigeration compressor valve wear and efficiency loss

Midstreamly supports shorter rebaseline intervals for assets in H2S-containing service — configurable down to 7-day rolling baseline windows rather than the 21-day default. This reflects the higher degradation rate of bearing steels in sour environments where corrosion-fatigue can accelerate MTBF decline. Alarm setpoints for sour service equipment can be tightened relative to sweet-service baselines.

$NGL fractionation facility with distillation columns and rotating equipment$

H2S sour service — adjusted monitoring parameters

Baseline window (sweet service) 21 days

Baseline window (sour service) 7–14 days

Zone B/C threshold (sweet) 4.5 mm/s

Zone B/C threshold (sour, recommended) 3.0 mm/s

Book a use-case-specific technical session.

Tell us which vertical you operate in and what equipment you're monitoring. We'll review your historian configuration and map your asset population to our failure mode library before the first call.

Book a Technical Demo