These are barely maintained primitive dirt roads on the best of days. With rain they can in places become unexpected quagmires that will at best cause your vehicle to slide off the road, at worst your vehicle may attempt a poor imitation of a submarine.
A compressor station is a facility which helps the transportation process of natural gas from one location to another. Natural gas, while being transported through a gas pipeline, needs to be constantly pressurized at intervals of 40 to 100 miles. Siting is dependent on terrain, and the number of gas wells in the vicinity. Frequent elevation changes and a greater number of gas wells will require more compressor stations.
The gas in compressor stations is normally pressurized by special turbines, motors and engines.
The compressor station, also called a pumping station, is the "engine" that powers an interstate natural gas pipeline. As the name implies, the compressor station compresses the natural gas (increasing its pressure) thereby providing energy to move the gas through the pipeline.
Pipeline companies install compressor stations along a pipeline route, typically every 40 to 100 miles. The size of the station and the number of compressors (pumps) varies, based on the diameter of the pipe and the volume of gas to be moved. Nevertheless, the basic components of a station are similar
As the pipeline enters the compressor station the natural gas passes through scrubbers, strainers or filter separators. These are vessels designed to remove any free liquids or dirt particles from the gas before it enters the compressors. Though the pipeline is carrying “dry gas,” some water and hydrocarbon liquids may condense out of the gas stream as the gas cools and moves through the pipeline. Any liquids that may be produced are collected and stored for sale or disposal. A piping system directs the gas from the separators to the gas compressors.