If you’ve worked in midstream natural gas for more than a couple of years, you’ve likely seen a shift: once hailed as a “bridge fuel” between coal and renewables, natural gas is now both the backbone of global energy infrastructure and a source of persistent operational headaches—many of which start with the compressors that power every link in the chain. As a supplier of natural gas compressor series, I’m not here to bash the equipment we sell or the industry that relies on it. I’m here to call out the real, often unspoken disadvantages that keep our customers up at night, because only by naming these pain points can we solve them. Natural Gas Compressor Series
Let’s start with the most immediate issue: high upfront and ongoing operational costs for the entire series. When a gas producer or pipeline operator buys a single compressor, they calculate costs around that unit’s horsepower, footprint, and lifespan. But a series—say, three to five compressors sized to handle varying flow rates along a 100-mile trunk line—doesn’t scale linearly. For example, our standard 5,000-horsepower compressor costs roughly $1.2 million, but adding two more identical units for redundancy and load balancing pushes total upfront costs to over $3.5 million, not including installation, foundation work, and pre-commissioning testing. That’s a steep tab for mid-sized operators working on tight capital budgets.
Worse, the operational costs don’t stay steady. Natural gas compressors run 24/7, 364 days a year (they rarely shut down entirely, even for holidays), so fuel consumption is a massive expense. Modern models are slightly more efficient than 10-year-old units, but a series of compressors still uses about 2-3% of the gas it moves just to power itself. For a large pipeline moving 1 billion cubic feet of gas daily, that’s 20 to 30 million cubic feet of gas wasted annually—enough to heat 150,000 U.S. homes for a year. Add in maintenance: each compressor in the series needs annual tune-ups, oil changes, and valve replacements, and if one unit breaks down, the others in the series have to work harder to compensate, accelerating wear and tear. Last year, I worked with a regional operator who had four compressors in their series; when one’s bearing failed, the remaining three ran 18% above their rated load for six weeks, leading to two more breakdowns and $280,000 in emergency repairs. It’s a snowball effect that’s hard to avoid when you’re dependent on a series of interconnected equipment.
Next up: strict noise and emission regulations that are harder to comply with for an entire series, not just individual units. Let’s talk about noise first. Local zoning laws in areas near compressor stations often cap noise levels at 55 decibels (roughly the sound of a normal conversation) at the property line. A single large reciprocating compressor can hit 90 decibels at 50 feet—loud enough to disrupt nearby residents and violate rules. But when you have an entire series running at full capacity, noise levels spike dramatically. We’ve had customers in Pennsylvania and Texas who had to install $50,000 sound dampers on each compressor in their series, just to meet local noise requirements. That’s a huge extra cost that’s not factored in when they first price the equipment.
Emissions are an even bigger headache, especially as governments tighten rules to fight climate change. Natural gas compressors emit methane—a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than CO₂ over a 100-year period—along with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and NOₓ. For a single compressor, leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs can keep emissions within limits, but a series has dozens more connections, valves, and seals, all potential leak points. A 2023 EPA study found that compressor stations with three or more units have 30% higher methane emissions per unit than stations with single compressors, because the more components you have, the more chances there are for leaks. We’ve had customers in California face fines of up to $50,000 for unreported leaks in their compressor series, which isn’t just a financial hit—it can halt operations until the leaks are fixed, costing them even more in lost revenue.
Another disadvantage I see every day is the limited adaptability of compressor series to changing demand. Let’s say a pipeline operator’s flow needs drop by 40% in the summer, when demand for heating gas is low. A single compressor can be throttled down or shut off, but a series is built to work in sync. Most series are engineered to run at a specific range of flow rates, so if you need to operate at 50% of their rated capacity, you end up with very low efficiency. That means you’re still using almost as much fuel as you would at full capacity, just moving less gas. We had a customer in the Rocky Mountains last year who had a four-compressor series sized for peak winter demand. In June, they only needed half the capacity, so they could only run two compressors—but even then, the remaining two in the series had to stay on standby to compensate if one failed, wasting fuel and adding unnecessary maintenance costs.
What about reliability? Compressor series are supposed to be more reliable than single units, right? After all, if one breaks, the others pick up the slack. But that’s only true if the series is sized and maintained correctly. In reality, a series of compressors is a single interconnected system, so a failure in one component can bring down the entire line. For example, a faulty control valve in one compressor can cause pressure spikes that damage the other units in the series. Last year, a mid-sized pipeline in the Midwest had a control module malfunction in their third compressor, leading to a pressure surge that cracked the heat exchangers in two other units. That took three compressors out of service, not just one, and cost them a week of downtime while repairs were made. It’s a domino effect that’s more common than most operators realize, because they don’t account for how interdependent each unit in the series is.
And let’s not forget about the skill gap: operating and maintaining a full compressor series requires specialized expertise that’s getting harder to find. When you have a single compressor, operators can learn the basics in a few weeks, but a series of multiple units, each with its own control system, monitoring tools, and maintenance schedule, needs operators who understand how the whole system works together. We’ve heard from customers that it’s hard to hire and train people with the knowledge to manage these series, especially as older operators retire and take decades of hands-on experience with them. This skill gap leads to more mistakes, more breakdowns, and higher operational costs—all of which are avoidable if you have the right team, but most operators don’t.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking: “If there are all these disadvantages, why do you sell compressor series at all?” It’s a fair question, and one I ask myself every day. The truth is, compressor series do have their benefits. They offer redundancy, so if one unit breaks, you don’t have to shut down the entire pipeline. They’re often more cost-effective than buying multiple single compressors for large-scale operations. But those benefits come with real costs that many customers don’t see when they’re placing an order.
As a supplier, I don’t want to hide these disadvantages from you. I’ve spent 12 years working with compressor series, and I’ve seen firsthand how these pain points can sink a project if you’re not prepared. That’s why I always sit down with customers before they buy, walk them through the upfront costs, the maintenance requirements, the emissions and noise regulations they’ll have to comply with, and how to adapt their series to changing demand. We don’t just sell equipment—we work with you to build a solution that works for your specific needs, not just a one-size-fits-all series.
If you’re dealing with high operational costs, frequent breakdowns, or compliance issues with your current compressor series, I’d love to talk. We can walk through your current setup, identify what’s causing your headaches, and find a solution that balances the benefits of a compressor series with the ability to avoid those disadvantages. You don’t have to figure this out alone.
High Pressure Breathing Air Compressor References:
US Energy Information Administration. (2022). Natural Gas Compressor Operation and Cost Trends.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2023). Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Compressor Stations.
International Energy Agency. (2021). The Future of Natural Gas Compression in a Low-Carbon Energy System.
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. (2022). Compressor Series Reliability and Failure Analysis.
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