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Turbomachinery Magazine – Oil & Gas, Petrochemical and Power Insights

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Dominic Sarachine of FS-Elliott highlights the efficiency, reliability, and lower power use of centrifugal compressors, along with tips for optimizing performance through maintenance, smart controls, and monitoring. He also explains how AI is enhancing operations with real-time adjustments and less manual intervention.

Smarter Air, Lower Costs: The Evolving Role of Centrifugal Compressors in Industry

 deep dives into our recent State of the Industry survey results and the dynamic factors shaping the turbomachinery sector. We've gathered insights, identified trends, and asked about solutions on the persistent supply chain constraints, the impact of rising material costs, and the ongoing challenge of labor shortages and skill gaps. The in-depth market report also explores the adoption of modular solutions and the accelerating drive toward decarbonization, offering a comprehensive look at the challenges the industry is facing and its adapting and innovating in response to these dynamic conditions.

We are releasing a series of preliminary interviews related to our market report. The first interview features Ulrich Schmitz, Vice President of Marketing in the Gas and Processing Division at Atlas Copco. He discusses the pressing issues facing the turbomachinery industry and addresses the challenges outlined above. Additionally, he highlights the technological solutions that Atlas Copco is implementing to meet the growing power demands, particularly those driven by the expansion of AI and data centers.

Energy Industry Outlook: Strategies to Tackle Supply Chain Issues, Power Demand, and Decarbonization.

A few factors that are greatly impacting decisions within the turbomachinery industry are global economic conditions and energy market volatility. What conversations is Atlas Copco having around these factors? How are you navigating the volatility and uncertainty your customers are experiencing?

 Yes, that is true. The move toward climate change, reducing emissions, and creating cleaner energy began around 10 years ago, possibly even earlier during the Paris Agreement discussions. In recent years, we've witnessed considerable changes due to the pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine, and various other global conflicts. Additionally, we have changing administrations in the United States. All these factors are causing significant attention on projects, and investors are not moving as quickly as we would expect. We navigate this by maintaining close conversations with our customers to ensure we are aligned with their needs. We adapt our offerings and products to suit the conditions they face.

How are you responding to supply-chain constraints and rising material costs? What solutions are you offering your customers to combat these concerns?

 Rising material costs vary by geographical region. Energy costs drive material costs, and we’ve noticed increases in the Western world linked to higher energy expenses and supply-chain constraints caused by logistical bottlenecks. We address these challenges by leveraging our global footprint. We have factories in various regions, including the United States, Europe, and Asia, which provide us with a broad pool of qualified vendors. This approach also helps when tariffs are involved; we can produce more locally if we have suitable suppliers. That’s one of our key initiatives.

Have you seen an uptick in modular and mobile technologies to meet increasing power demands or even the use of smaller micro turbines? If not these, which types of technologies are being used to meet increased demand?

 Regarding power demand, we have indeed seen an increase. There’s a clear rise in electricity production for decarbonization and its use in processes and mobility, including the utilization of natural gas. Our equipment is primarily designed for permanent facilities, not mobile projects or plants. However, modularization is a way to reduce onsite work, which is beneficial in regions with high labor costs, such as the United States or Europe, compared to Asia. So, we are seeing modularization in this context.

How are decarbonization technologies advancing within your organization? What’s the demand for these technologies?

Decarbonization is definitely a driving force in our business, especially in the Western world, and it is increasingly gaining traction in Asia. It’s a crucial effort for society, industry, and for us as equipment suppliers.

One of the biggest challenges facing the industry today is labor shortages and skill gaps. How is Atlas Copco working with industry to close the gap and raise a skilled workforce?

We strive to attract young talent early in their careers. We engage with universities and participate in job fairs to entice young people and offer them opportunities within our company. We also utilize various social media channels to reach potential talent. Although we see positive outcomes from these efforts, we recognize that we cannot rely solely on this approach. We are also employing artificial intelligence to enhance efficiency and address potential labor shortages.

Listen to industry leaders discuss strategies

—collaborating with academia, partners, and networking—to cultivate a skilled workforce and address labor challenges.

Ulrich Schmitz of Atlas Copco discusses industry challenges and how it’s adapting offerings, leveraging its global presence, and embracing decarbonization and AI.

Atlas Copco Addresses Industry Challenges, Increasing Energy Demand

 surveyed its readers about the state of the industry. One recurring challenge in our readers’ responses was labor shortages and skill gaps.

At Tubo Expo 2025, held June 17-18 in Memphis, Tennessee, we asked industry leaders about how they are collaborating with partners and academia, and networking at conferences to build a skilled workforce and address shortages.

Hear insights from Antonio Escamilla Perejon, Client Relationship Manager at ETN Global; Tim Allison, Director of R&D in the Machinery Department of Southwest Research Institute; Dr. Eric Petersen, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Turbomachinery Laboratory at Texas A&M, Angelique Vesey, Senior Director of TEC Strategy & Operations at ASME; and Susan Scofield, VP of Business Operations for North America at Siemens Energy.

Industry leaders discuss strategies—collaborating with academia, partners, and networking—to cultivate a skilled workforce and address labor challenges.

Building a Skilled Turbomachinery Workforce: Collaboration and Innovation

to listen to Ulrich Schmitz, Vice President of Marketing in the Gas and Processing Division at Atlas Copco, discuss pressing issues facing the turbomachinery industry. 

Conference Coverage

Houston is a hotbed for the oil and gas and global energy industries, employing nearly 250,000 workers across 4,700 firms, rightfully earning its nickname as the “Energy Capital of the World.” It’s here where two of EthosEnergy’s headquarters are located, including its steam and heavy gas turbine repair workshop and its light turbines facility and Performance Center. 

toured one of EthosEnergy’s Texas-based facilities, which employs hundreds of local residents, cementing Houston’s place among top energy-centric locations worldwide.

The tour began at EthosEnergy’s Performance Center. It was built in 2023 and supports the company’s O&M segment. Performance Center Director Daniel Tegtmeier outlined the facility’s 24/7 real-time remote start/stop capabilities and access to asset monitoring, diagnostics, and remote engineering support. In addition, operators can leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to detect early warnings of reliability and performance issues.

These capabilities are contained within one room, manned by a single operator across multiple monitors and mounted screens for an all-encompassing view of plants and respective assets. This “control room” instantaneously receives data from each plant.

“A protected feed from the customer’s facility comes into our software, and we model what ‘normal’ looks like for each of the machines,” Tegtmeier said. “We monitor the whole plant while some OEMs just monitor the turbine. We look at the heat steam recovery generator, balance-of-plant, any plant configuration—we’re agnostic to the configuration of the facility. If it has a sensor, we can monitor it and learn the normal behavior of that equipment and, when it’s abnormal, we can dig into that issue.”

Aside from remote plant and asset monitoring, the center enables operators to conduct remote operations via computer-aided physical controls—some controlled plants are located over 1,000 miles from Houston. Using remote control, EthosEnergy can dispatch teams to these locations if personnel aren’t present and have full start/ stop capability for every piece of equipment at a given location. The operator analyzes indications from the monitoring system, and then makes informed decisions regarding the stop/start or maintenance required on each machine.

Remote monitoring and control offer numerous benefits over traditional methods. “Economics seems to drive the decision-making behind remotely operating a facility or not,” Tegtmeier said. “However, there’s a huge safety aspect to this because people aren’t around equipment with a lot of energy 24 hours a day. We take several plants and operate them through [the Performance Center] with only one person rather than rotating people around the clock all over the country. Costs add up to continuously staff a facility when the unit is barely running.”

AI and ML are the core enablers of the Performance Center capabilities, allowing the operator to control the plant based on well-informed patterns and learned algorithms. These advanced diagnostics trigger an alert to the Performance Center every time a valve opens or a certain load parameter is reached.

“It’s 100% ML and AI,” Tegtmeier added. “It creates millions of Monte Carlo simulations and comes up with a model that dictates when it’ll send an alert or not. We have a built-in issues management system that can be directly tied to the plant’s computerized maintenance management system, or it can be emailed if it’s not a sophisticated operator. It’s all cloud-based so plants and engineers can have access, and it stays in the historical record.”

Although the center primarily monitors thermal assets and associated equipment, Tegtmeier said that EthosEnergy can cover renewable energy, such as wind and solar. This requires further certification, but the company is currently, and carefully, pursuing the renewable generation market.

The tour continued to the light turbines shop floor and test cell with Philip Booth, Engineering Manager. The light turbines facility performs overhauls and field services on Solar Turbines’ engines and compressors, including the Mars, Taurus, Centaur, and Saturn product lines. The test cell verifies the engine before final send-off.

The shop floor is organized in a circular fashion, with work flowing from one space to the next in sequential order. According to Booth, EthosEnergy’s business model focuses on reduced downtime: The engine is built and tested ahead of time and stored as inventory, so it’s available when customers need it. Once installed, the customer’s older engine arrives at the shop for overhaul and the entire process begins again. The “build pits” are the first stop for every machine entering the workshop.

“In terms of disassembly and assembly, we bring in the complete engine and do all the work here,” said Booth. “These are vertically built engines, and we load them into the stand and de-stack them to send through the overhaul process quickly. Every engine starts and finishes here, so it’s a constrained resource and we encourage speedy disassembly.”

As the initial disassembly process breaks down engines into larger pieces, a station strips those parts into even smaller components. Individual parts, such as nuts and bolts, can be closely analyzed once isolated, allowing shop workers to detect cracks or thermal damage for the repair station. Parts that cannot be salvaged due to extensive wear are typically scrapped and subsequently replaced.

Repairable components move on to the next station to clean off surface debris and other non-desirable contaminants. Booth clarifies that crack detection is the first step toward repair: “We use a fluorescent penetrant line. We’ll clean it, bake it, and apply a powder, and we try to get oil into a crack so that it fluoresces under black light. We want to understand where the cracks are as well as their depth and extent. There’s a Level 2 inspector on staff who runs the [detection] line all day long.”

Following disassembly, inspection and detection, and repair, the build process begins again with sub-assemblies, full assembly, and balancing work in preparation for the final step: installation at the test cell.

The testing facility, located next to the workshop, features a singular control room and three test cells for each Solar turbine size—ranging from small, medium, and large. The facility simulates load using a hydraulic dynamometer, bringing the turbine through start and acceleration and increasing load sizes, eventually hitting full load. The test cells can also conduct low-emissions testing to map the turbine combustion system.

“Almost every piece of equipment in the facility can be controlled by clicking buttons on a screen,” said Booth. “The engine starts with a single button, and the control system takes it through start sequencing and acceleration. When loading, we tell the dynamometer a specific load, hit a button, and it’ll load itself. Rather than having the operator dancing around, we just have him monitoring the system for a supervisory overview.”

Within the cells, turbines are loaded onto skids equipped with the required gas systems, and from there, the control system knows which instrumentation to use. Booth said that this process allows speedy turbine testing—ranging anywhere from 1.5 to 3 days for complete installation, testing, and decoupling from the skid. If a turbine is successfully cell-tested, it receives a green tag and is returned to the shop for delivery upon customer request. However, if the turbine fails testing in some regard, it receives a red tag and is returned to the shop for disassembly, examination, and root-cause analysis.

EthosEnergy left no stone unturned for its light turbines workshop, test cell, and Performance Center. The workshop and testing facility work hand-in-hand to strip, inspect, repair, assemble, and test Solar turbines before shipping them to customers, ensuring that the machinery will operate as intended out in the field: efficiently, reliably, and with sustainability in mind. In addition, customers can be present for testing and have unfettered access to raw data.

The recently opened Performance Center capitalizes on industry innovation, particularly in the realms of advanced software, AI, and ML algorithms. Plant owners can rely on the center to monitor their assets 24/7, complete with the ability to analyze incoming data and make decisions based on the learned behaviors of machines over time. If a problem is detected or maintenance is required, EthosEnergy can shut down the machine and restart it from afar.

“You have to change the experience of plant owners because they’ve invested a lot of money in these [assets],” said Tegtmeier. “It’s about shifting the way we’ve always looked at plants—how do we make these intermittent assets more viable in a market that’s infiltrated by renewable energy? Remote operations are how you do that.”

But as Tegtmeier, EthosEnergy’s work is far from done: “We aspire to be a partner in all things turbine- and plant-related. It’s not just the power industry; turbines are used in a host of operations, such as LNG and oil and gas. We seek to be the largest partner for all those industries in the realm of rotating equipment. The five-year plan is growth, to increase partnership, and to increase our OEM presence.”

Check out more from our EthosEnergy tour at 

EthosEnergy’s turbine workshop and Performance Center work hand-in-hand to maintain operators’ turbine equipment and provide remote operations and monitoring.

Featured

Turbo Tour: EthosEnergy Showcases Remote Operations, Overhaul, and Field Services

GE Vernova and Crusoe signed a deal for GE Vernova to deliver 29 units of its LM2500XPRESS aeroderivative gas turbine packages to Crusoe AI data centers, which is expected to provide almost 1 GW of electricity. Crusoe, a vertically integrated AI infrastructure provider, booked 10 units in December 2024 and 19 units in June 2025.

“AI's exponential growth demands rapidly deployable power solutions,” said Cully Cavness, co-founder, President, and COO of Crusoe. “Crusoe’s capabilities as an energy-first digital infrastructure builder have positioned us well to take the issue of power into our own hands by rapidly building and operating power plants alongside AI datacenters. With their flexible and efficient technology, GE Vernova power generation equipment was an ideal choice to enable power plant strategies across Crusoe’s growing datacenter development portfolio. We’re building AI factories at record speed, and GE Vernova’s technology is a key enabler, significantly accelerating the path to energization for our customers and partners.”

GE Vernova’s aero units provide the flexibility and reliability of efficient jet engines. They can ramp up and down rapidly and have low emissions that is further reduced by SCR technology, producing 90% lower emissions than traditional gas or diesel-powered reciprocating engines with little to no methane slip.

“This project clearly illustrates our ability to provide the right solutions for data centers and power applications of all sizes and scales,” said Pablo Koziner, GE Vernova’s Chief Commercial and Operations Officer. “From a single aero unit producing approximately 35 MW to this 29-unit project, to our HA heavy-duty gas turbines to small modular nuclear reactors, we have the full suite of generation options to help meet today’s and tomorrow’s energy needs.”

In April, due to advanced manufacturing, data centers, and population growth, D

 to accelerate the company’s unspecified power projects across six states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.

“As we continue to experience unprecedented growth in our service territories, securing the necessary materials to build critical infrastructure and meet the energy demand is integral to delivering value for our customers and other stakeholders,” said Harry Sideris, Duke Energy President and CEO. “We value our collaboration with forward-thinking partners who assist us in advancing our energy-modernization strategy.”

GE Vernova will deliver 11 7HA gas turbines and related equipment to Duke Energy, adding to the eight 7HA turbines provided in an earlier contract. Aligning with Duke Energy’s integrated resources initiatives, these onsite assets allow the company to leverage existing infrastructure and transmission lines to lower electricity costs and accelerate production-to-grid timelines. Generating and delivering reliable, low-cost energy enables Duke Energy to accommodate customers within its service area and address emerging growth opportunities in the power landscape.

GE Vernova’s aeroderivative packages are expected to provide almost 1 GW of electricity to Crusoe AI data centers. 

GE Vernova Delivers 29 LM2500XPRESS Aeroderivative Gas Turbine Packages to Crusoe AI Data Centers

As the global energy landscape evolves, recent projections and industry updates highlight the dynamic shifts within the global natural gas sector. In April 2024, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) anticipated a modest increase in U.S. LNG exports for the year (2%) followed by significant growth in 2025 (an additional 18%). This growth is mirrored by expectations for a rise in U.S. natural gas exports by pipeline (3% in 2024, 4% in 2025) and a slight dip and recovery in pipeline imports in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Concurrently, S&P Global Ratings forecasted stable hydrocarbon prices supported by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), alongside a year-end rebound in gas prices driven by LNG export expansion and infrastructure developments.

“Low U.S. natural gas prices will likely continue for at least the next 10 years, fueling more LNG developments due to the low base price of natural gas,” said Marybeth McBain Product Line Manager - IGC New Apparatus, Global Sales at Ebara Elliott Energy.

This price point will not only bolster further LNG developments but also the construction of natural gas combined-cycle (NGCC) power plants. “The low and cleaner natural gas fuel will propel more NGCC power plants to be constructed, which provide reliable baseload power to supplement a growing renewables portfolio for the U.S. electric grid—eight new NGCC plants since 2022. This favors all gas-fired turbomachinery supporting the natural gas industry in the United States,” McBain said.

In this context, emerging trends such as modularization and the adoption of e-LNG technologies are reshaping the industry. “LNG projects are requiring modularization to eliminate risk in the field, i.e., stick built, in addition to a decline in available field labor,” said Joel Schubert, Director of Business Development LNG at Siemens Energy. “We also see a trend for future LNG projects going forward with e-LNG (electric motor drives) to reduce emissions and their carbon footprint.”

Moreover, the broader shift toward decarbonization and emissions reduction in LNG projects has started to affect LNG new developments. “Operators are considering greenhouse gas emissions, making changes in design accordingly, and moving toward electrification of some, if not all, of the major compression/pumps in the LNG plant,” McBain said.

Furthermore, Christopher Campos, Area Sales Manager, New Apparatus at Ebara Elliott Energy, said, “The offshore LNG market remains strong despite the current slowdown in the market due to pricing and policy shifts.” He said offshore floating LNG (FLNG) units continue to drive investors to look at capacity space with a limited number of shipyards. “In 2023, we saw Petronas invest in its third FLNG unit while 2024 saw a final investment decision (FID) by Cedar LNG for Canada. Golar is looking at re-purposing Golar Hilli Episeyo for its next area of operation in Argentina. Genting FLNG, an investment by Genting Oil & Gas in Indonesia, contracted out the construction of its first FLNG unit in 2024.”

Two trends are poised to send the global LNG markets into oversupply within two years: lackluster demand growth combined with a massive wave of new export capacity, according to a report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), 

The global LNG market is slated to experience a shift starting in late 2024, as a wave of new liquefaction projects comes online. IEEFA expects global LNG production capacity (only projects under construction or approved by financially capable backers) to grow by roughly 193 MTPA from 2024 - 2028, rising from ~474 MTPA of nameplate capacity at the beginning of 2024 to 666.5 MTPA by the end of 2028—the fastest capacity growth in the history of the global LNG industry, representing a 40% increase in five years.

During 2024, only 12 MTPA of liquefaction capacity is slated to come online in the Republic of Congo, Mexico, Russia, Mauritania/Senegal, Australia, and the United States. Two of these new projects shipped their first cargoes earlier this year. But late 2024/early 2025 will see a new wave of LNG supply: IEEFA expects ~ 37 MTPA of new LNG facilities to start operations in 2025, with 57 MTPA of new capacity in 2026—the most ever built in a single year. IEEFA sees more LNG capacity additions of (

Note, this excludes any proposed global LNG projects that have not reached FID and the several projects that are moving forward but don’t have a completion date until 2029 or later.

Structural LNG demand growth faces challenges, according to IEEFA: economic, political, financial, and logistical. “The global LNG crisis of the last several years heightened those challenges, spurring some Asian nations to reduce the role of LNG in their development plans and accelerate the development of alternative energy sources.”

Combined imports fell in 2023 in Japan, South Korea, and Europe—a trio of countries that account for more than half of the world’s LNG demand—and IEEFA predicts they will likely continue falling through 2030.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spurred a decline in Russian gas supply to Europe that led to a spike in European LNG imports. However, prices have retreated from 2022 levels, largely due to falling demand from developed economies.

The United States, Australia, and Qatar produced three-fifths of the world’s LNG in 2023. Now, for the first time, the United States is no. 1 among global LNG exporters—the first U.S. LNG terminal started up on the Gulf Coast in early 2016. Most of the new LNG capacity slated through 2028 will be concentrated in the United States and Qatar, pushing Australia—the world’s top LNG exporter in 2021 and 2022—to third among global suppliers.

Mark Axford, President of Axford Turbine Consultants, cited in his report from CERAWeek 2024 a disrupting event that completely changed the worldwide energy picture and pushed the United States to the top: “The Nord Stream pipeline blowing up in 2022 was the single-most important occurrence in energy markets in decades. Since then, the United States has gone from third in LNG production to no. 1, with 24% share.”

Today, there are seven operating LNG facilities in the continental United States, with a combined nameplate capacity of 92.3 MTPA of LNG, about one-fifth of the world’s total (

IEEFA said the LNG industry’s capacity to export U.S. gas is set to grow from 94 MTPA to 172 MTPA by 2028. Five U.S. LNG projects, totaling more than 71 MTPA in liquefaction capacity, are currently under construction:

An expansion at Corpus Christi LNG (10 MTPA)

A 1.4-MTPA Mexican project sourced with U.S. gas recently shipped its first cargo and an additional 6 MTPA of U.S.-sourced LNG projects are moving forward in Mexico. IEEFA reports:

The development of the North Field complex will boost Qatar’s liquefaction capacity by 64 MTPA through 2030.

The initial phase of the 20-MTPA Arctic LNG 2 project received its first gas in late 2023.

The country’s first commercial-scale LNG plant is slated to start operations in 2025 or 2026.

Five projects have reached FID or are under construction in Africa.

Campos said that additional LNG carrier fleets have been added to the new-build bookings to support new liquefaction terminals coming online in Qatar, the United States, and Canada. Continued investment in bunkering vessels and LNG-as-a-fuel is still contributing to new-build bookings.

The industry continues to move forward with successful deliveries and progress for liquefaction and pipeline projects.

Siemens Energy successfully delivered, commissioned, and commercially operated its hybrid application for Chart Energy and Chemicals: a nitrogen refrigeration compressor STC-GV (20-3-H) package, powered by a STG-300 2S LE gas turbine. It integrates a synchronous motor/generator into a turbine-compressor configuration and includes online changeover capabilities from motor-to-generator modes and vice versa, supporting a transition to low-emission technology in compliance with local environmental regulations. The integration ensures that surplus power generated by Siemens Energy’s equipment contributes to the local power grid.

Siemens Energy has several recent and upcoming shipments and updates regarding Woodfibre LNG, a 2.1 MTPA export facility with 250,000 cubic meters of floating storage capacity being built near Squamish, British Columbia:

Boil-off gas (BOG) compressors 1 & 2 were successfully delivered on July 16.

Feed gas booster (FGB) compressor will be shipped in mid-August—the company is waiting for date/vessel confirmation from MDR.

BOG/FGB Powerhouses will be delivered at the end of September.

All main refrigeration (MF) and propane (C3) compressors have been successfully tested.

MR LP completed unit test preparation. String test is currently planned for the end of August.

Delivery of the LP MR train is planned for mid-October.

MR HP/C3 Complete Unit Test is planned for the end of November.

Delivery of the MR HP/C3 train is planned for January 2025.

Cheniere said it remains full-speed ahead on its current and future expansion projects. It continues to make progress on its Corpus Christi Liquefaction (CCL) Stage 3 Project and remains optimistic that it will achieve first LNG from the first train by the end of the year.

“We are confident we will secure all the regulatory approvals needed for the Midscale Trains 8 & 9 Project at Corpus Christi and the Sabine Pass Liquefaction (SPL) Expansion Project within our expected timelines,” said Bernardo Fallas, Director of Communications at Cheniere. “We recently received our environmental assessment for Midscale Trains 8 & 9, and we are in pre-filing with FERC for the SPL Expansion Project.”

In terms of pipelines, Fallas said the Sabine Crossing Pipeline Project is proposing a 58-mile pipeline extending east from Texas to the proposed SPL Expansion Project in Cameron, Louisiana, to support the natural gas needs of the project. The proposed pipeline would transport up to a maximum of approximately 2.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas to SPL from receipt points to be developed.

On July 1, the ADCC Pipeline entered commercial service and can provide approximately 1.7 Bcf/d of natural gas transportation capacity to the Cheniere CCL facility from markets on Whistler Pipeline’s Agua Dulce Header in South Texas.

In late July, Texas LNG Brownsville announced that they converted the two heads of agreement (HOA) with EQT Corp. to a definitive tolling agreement for 2.0 MTPA of LNG offtake. The FID is anticipated by late 2024/early 2025.

Also in late July, Woodside Energy purchased Tellurian Driftwood LNG—it is looking to reach FID in the first quarter of 2025; as part of the FID process, Woodside plans to examine equity sell-down options (up to 50%).

In January 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) paused new authorizations for LNG exports to non-free trade agreement (NFTA) nations. The industry pushed back heavily on the pause, calling it “the worst energy decision made so far by the current administration,” according to Mike Sommers, President & CEO of the American Petroleum Institute.

Some projects were affected by the pause: Commonwealth LNG was stalled and is costing the project millions due to inflation while it sits still. In late June, Kimmeridge Texas Gas closed a follow-on control investment in Commonwealth LNG, raising its equity ownership to 90%. After selling his control to Kimmeridge, Founder and Executive Chairman of Commonwealth LNG, Paul Varello, announced his retirement. The pause also impacted Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) LNG in Louisiana; however, on June 27, FERC issued a certificate that allowed CP2 to move forward.

But industry agencies said the pause would not alter the short-term trajectory of the U.S. LNG buildout. In April, IEEFA said: “Five new U.S. liquefaction projects, as well as two Mexican projects sourced with U.S. gas, are under construction and have already been cleared to export to NFTA nations. The projects have a collective capacity of 78 MTPA, meaning—pause or no—the U.S. gas industry is preparing for 85% growth in LNG export capacity by 2028.”

McBain said: “There remains a general acknowledgment in the industry that LNG expansions are continuing to move forward with FERC on a case-by-case basis. Also, the sentiment is that more LNG new licenses will be approved once the election is finalized— regardless of which political party wins.”

Relief came on July 1, when U.S. District Judge James Cain in Lake Charles, LA, ordered the Administration to lift the pause until a lawsuit brought on by 16 Republican-led states—who argued that freezing approvals of LNG exports was “completely without reason or logic”—could be resolved.

“We are encouraged by the recent ruling and expect it will facilitate DOE’s continued processing of LNG export applications,” Fallas said. “We previously stated that we did not believe the DOE pause materially impacted the timelines of our overall projects, and we continue to believe that to be true.”

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61863#:~:text=We%20forecast%20that%20U.S.%20LNG,and%20by%204%25%20in%202025

The global LNG market has been impacted by new liquefaction capacity, price fluctuations, and political intervention yet it is slated to grow at an unprecedented rate through 2028.

The Global LNG Market: The Rise of LNG Production

The turbomachinery industry is using augmented, virtual, and mixed realities to create immersive, immediate, and interactive environments that are transforming not only a user’s view of the real world, but the industry’s approach to safety, productivity, design and manufacturing, repairs and maintenance, employee training, customer presentations, and more.

With virtual reality (VR), the user is immersed in a digital environment while augmented reality (AR) overlays virtual objects on top of a real-world environment. Mixed reality (XR) is an extension of AR that blends physical and digital worlds.

Gone are the days when VR and AR were questioned for their functionality and credibility—these are reliable and imaginative tools on the shop floor, in the training room, in the field, and beyond. As Patrick M. Kessler, Global Communications and Digital Marketing Manager at Atlas Copco Gas and Process, pointed out, these immersive technologies are no longer seen as something futuristic or intimidating. “We have found solid business cases for using 3D technologies, where previously it was often seen as pure entertainment,” he said.

Ellie Smith, Product Manager of Augmented Reality at Howden, a Chart Industries Company, echoed Kessler's view: “We are now fully convinced that AR has a place in the way we work and are working hard to embed it as part of our everyday processes. We started our journey with AR five years ago running pilot projects, working on specific standalone challenges to understand how AR tools can work for our business and what problems they can solve for us,” she said. “We’re now at a stage where we’re confident in the technology. We’re beginning to scale up our usage, embed-ding it into our everyday processes for internal use and offering our AR services to more of our customers.”

Remote collaboration is the most popular AR application, according to Inderpreet Shoker, Director of Research at ARC Advisory Group.“ VR is touted as the next-gen solution for taking operator training to the next level. It can create effective training programs with large field of view and complete immersion to help train new workers quickly and efficiently.” She said that research supports the use of AR, indicating that hands-on training programs are more effective compared to presentations and books.

New digital tools and technologies in this space are breaking into the market and further enhancing features, software, graphics, and speed. Meta offers three versions of its VR headset, Meta Quest, with varying forms of graphics, performance, and ergonomics. Microsoft’s XR headset, HoloLens, comes in four offerings, including an industrial edition that is “designed and tested to support regulated environments such as hazardous locations.” According to Microsoft, in manufacturing, HoloLens 2 reduces downtime, increases efficiency by 90%, reduces travel time by 40%, and boosts employee learning of complex tasks.

“The emergence of Meta Quest in VR and Microsoft HoloLens 2 in XR has been historic,” said Kodai Tsushima, xR Application Development Section, Strategic Technologies Research Department at Ebara Corp., parent company of Elliott Group.

“Meta Quest has succeeded in promoting the widespread use of VR with its concept of affordability and PC-free experience. HoloLens 2 projects information into space hands-free and enables scanning of spatial shapes, meeting almost all the requirements of XR in the manufacturing industry. Moreover, with the improvement in PC graphics processing speed, simulations of previously impossible physical phenomena are now possible, and the technology continues to break barriers.”

As Shoker pointed out, AR has opened the door to more dynamic remote collaboration via smart glasses, phones, tablets, etc., “allowing users to connect with remote experts through video calls and receive guidance in real-time using diagrams, markers, instructions, and annotations in the user’s live field of view,” she said. “Many advanced applications also allow users to view critical tasks as well as asset information within their field of view. With digitally created content—including digital twins of assets and equipment—overlaid on a live video stream, AR can provide virtual hands-on assistance.”

Howden uses AR to enhance worker health and safety by helping onsite engineers maintain an awareness of their surroundings. “We can take our AR experiences out of the classroom and into the working environment,” Smith said. “This gives the information we’re showing a contextual grounding—we’re not just looking at data or work instructions in isolation; we’re able to show how that fits into the real working environment.”


The industry is not limiting its use of these technologies, as they are present in the training room, on the shop floor, in the field, and beyond.

For example, Siemens Energy’s collaboration with Microsoft and other partners to create an ecosystem of applications and services that can be integrated into HoloLens 2—”an untethered, self-contained holographic headset that offers the option to include XR applications and information in the physical environment while working heads-up and hands-free,” said Marion Mirold, Head of XR Center of Competence at Siemens Energy. This integration provides XR use cases in-shop and in the field among all project phases.

Another example is the role of AR and VR as a way to enhance employee training and development. “At Atlas Copco Gas and Process, we harness the power of AR/VR, immersing our employees in virtual scenarios that closely resemble real-life situations,” Kessler said. “This hands-on training helps improve employee skills. For example, it is possible to use our virtual models to perform task-site simulations. This allows for potential errors or shortcomings in the field to be identified and rectified immediately.”

The use of virtual and augmented environments also creates another layer of detection in the manufacturing process, as well as increases customer response times, optimizes maintenance and troubleshooting, and guides workers/engineers step-by-step.

Even if the 3D design theory is correct, mistakes can still be overlooked, “during reviews, discovery of problems not seen in the design theory, and difficulties in assembly that can lead to manufacturing problems,” explained Tsushima. “By using VR, it is possible to review designs in life-size (or any desired scale) without the need for prototyping. This enables verification from various angles and helps catch manufacturing problems.”

Shoker said that many OEMs provide AR collaboration tools to end users as a part of their maintenance services. “In many cases, using these tools, remote workers can fix issues themselves with remote guidance from an SME,” she said. These tools can speed up troubleshooting in the field and address issues more efficiently.

The team at Howden uses AR to visualize the next step in an assembly process—”overlaying the locations of piping and instrumentation in a more intuitive way than traditional 2D diagrams,” Smith said. Further, the company’s field service engineers can follow AR work instructions to guide them through each step of a process.

“Our AR-enabled remote support tool, Howden Virtual Expert, supports customers remotely by seeing what they see to help us respond faster to their needs,” Smith said. “AR remote assistance allows us to provide advice to our engineers in the field to achieve a first-time fix and reduce travel costs associated with a site visit by only sending one engineer with the expertise of many provided virtually. AR Work Instructions enables training regardless of location, reduces training time and costs, and enables better reporting and accountability as we capture data about servicing.”

Kessler said that Atlas Copco Gas and Process uses AR/VR similarly, as its service personnel can use these tools to access real-time equipment data and visual instructions during their tasks.

“This instant access to information makes it easier to optimize maintenance and commissioning processes while troubleshooting problems more efficiently,” he explained. “Ultimately, this helps reduce downtime and operating costs.”

AR also benefits customers by allowing companies to present their products and services using 3D models, animations, and more to bring their portfolio to life—and clients don’t even have to leave the office. “Today, we can bring our customers on tours of our different products in remote, inaccessible environments from the comfort of their own offices,” Smith said. “They can engage with the products and get information the way they prefer, by interacting with the content intuitively.”

Further, these technologies offer a perspective to customers that wasn’t easily accessible before. “With large and complex rotating equipment such as ours, it is challenging to look ‘under the hood’ of the actual turbomachinery, especially when it is running,” Kessler pointed out. 

“These 3D technologies enable the customer to take a deep dive into our solutions to understand and experience turbomachinery in a realistic, application-type setting. Our 3D equipment is typically placed inside a photorealistic version of a plant, making the experience even more immersive and relatable for our customer.”

Of course, every technology comes with limitations; however, the confines of these virtual and augmented realities may surprise you. Let’s start with the basics.

Often clients and employees have little to no experience with VR and AR, so it may take an adjustment period. “Generally, there needs to be a certain comfort level and willingness on the user’s end to literally take that leap and immerse themselves in 3D environments,” Kessler said.

In Howden’s case, it mostly uses mobile devices and tablets for its AR because they are familiar technologies, as there is a learning curve with headsets—they require end users to interact with the content in ways that are different from a traditional mouse and keyboard. For example, voice commands—which, even with noise canceling and directional mics, aren’t always practical in noisy environments—and hand gestures.

“Improved hand tracking has helped a lot in the latest HoloLens, but it can still feel quite unnatural,” Smith said. “Personally, I’d like to see a move toward bi-manual gestures, i.e., locking buttons and menus to locations on the hand or arm, and using the other hand to ‘click’—HoloLens does this for its start button, and it feels easier and more intuitive than grappling with virtual buttons floating in space because it gives us that tactile feedback we are used to.”

Plus, headsets are for situational use and cannot be worn all day, but even though they are “more capable compared to smartphones and tablets and can be operated with voice commands or head or hand gestures,” as Shoker pointed out, “most in today’s workforce are not familiar with these newer ways to input data and commands, so it may take more time for the workforce to get used to this technology.”

Beyond the comfort and familiarity with these environments, there are situations in which a physical presence is required when using VR and XR, which can be a barrier in some cases. Additionally, Smith pointed out other basic challenges such as a solid internet connection when working offshore, in a mine, or in very remote areas and a need for more devices that are ruggedized and/or rated for use in hazardous areas.

Further, some limitations depend on the end devices, as Tsushima pointed out, such as head-mounted displays and smart glasses rather than hardware or PCs. “For example, while 3D graphics representation and physics simulation have undergone significant changes in the past five years, HoloLens2 cannot process all of them,” Tsushima said.

In terms of functionality, AR headsets need to pack a lot into one lightweight package: display equipment, high-end graphics processing, batteries, etc. “With current technology, meeting these size and weight constraints means that battery life is limited, and your head warms after wearing a headset for a while, especially loading in large high complexity models,” Smith said. “So, there’s still a need for smaller, lighter-weight components to meet the kind of performance we need.”

At one point, cost was a major barrier, but today it’s not as much of a setback. Over the past several years the cost of hardware, including headsets, has decreased significantly, and, oftentimes, the initial upfront costs are quickly offset by the rate of return.

“The hardware, development, and service costs are very low compared to the savings that can be achieved,” Mirold said. “In many cases, a single successful use of the device can pay off the investment. And little training is required to use the device and the applications.”

Kessler pointed out that the cost of customizing your 3D experience—i.e., the cost of creating and developing a fully immersive digital universe tailored to your specific environment with your tools and products—
is still a sizeable investment. “At the same time, it has provided an even greater return.” He explained that its digital environment was created in a game engine, meaning it can pull multiple outputs ranging from AR to VR, and even singular 3D visualizations.

Beyond hardware, another cost consideration is software. “For us, because of the size of our company, the scale we operate at, and because we want to decentralize the creation of AR experiences to let product and process experts drive content—rather than AR or software experts—it made sense to invest in enterprise-level AR software, mostly SaaS-based and ‘click-and-drag’ style development interfaces,” Smith said. “It comes with some pretty significant costs, but the payoff is it allows us to develop and deploy solutions quickly, and with more input from our business experts because it’s easier for more people to get involved. Software cost doesn’t have to be a barrier to AR, especially for businesses just dipping their toe in the water with a quick proof of concept, but as you scale up, those enterprise features tend to become more important.”

All that said, Kessler doesn’t see any limitations. In fact, a limitless environment is the point of 3D technologies: “removing all limitations in the real world and immersing yourself in another one,” he said.

Mirold agreed: “Every day new use cases are being identified in the different branches of the organization. When the cybersecurity aspects are covered and the data transfer is ensured, even in tough conditions and at very remote locations, the use cases are nearly unlimited.”

As cliché as it may sound, the sky is the limit with these technologies. Currently, the industry continues to invest in AR/VR and look for new ways to integrate it into its economies, and that trend
will continue.

Augmented and virtual realities increase safety, enable remote support, enhance operator training, and support the design process.

Dominic Sarachine

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