Author: Charles Stewart, Project Manager
Ever tried working in 100-degree weather with 30-mile winds smacking you around all day? Well, that’s the hand West Texas dealt us for Oxy’s DAC 1 facility (aka STRATOS), but it didn’t deter us.
This project is pretty hush-hush, so I can’t tell you much, but I can tell you it’s supposed to be the world’s largest direct air capture facility once it’s up and running. It’s expected to collect 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. Pretty cool.
We’ve had a working relationship with Oxy for a while now. We did a job for them in 2016, they liked our work and they’ve been reaching out to us for all their new projects ever since. They asked us to do chemical cleans, air blows, oil flushing and AquaLazing on STRATOS’s piping systems so there won’t be any malfunctions during startup.
From 1 PointFive Ector County DAC Website
Remember the 100-degree weather and 30-mile winds I mentioned earlier? Despite the heat and the wind, we still stayed on time. Actually, we managed to wrap up Phase I before the expected completion date while exceeding the client’s cleanliness expectations. Not too shabby. It helps that we’ve got in-house engineering. Since this is an R&D job, P&IDs are changing all the time, and we can engineer those changes right away instead of waiting for someone else to get them done.
Like every job we take on, our work on the Oxy direct air capture project has come down to two things: doing what we said we’d do and doing it with care. We’ve worked fast, stayed safe and finished ahead of schedule. We take pride in getting things clean, getting them right and making sure the client’s happy before we even start thinking about packing up.
Can’t say much more. But I can tell you this: if you want your facility to run smoothly from Day 1, you want B&W on the job.
On to Phase II, and thanks for reading.
– Stew
With over a decade of experience at B&W Energy Services, Charles “Stew” Stewart brings technical expertise and laughter to every project he manages. His commitment to safety, professional growth and global project execution has taken him from Kuwait to Colombia, where he thrives in dynamic work environments. Outside of work, Stew enjoys riding his motorcycle, cheering on the Astros and spending time with his family and friends.