John "Bunkie" Westerheide, Kathairos Solutions, Inc.
Scott McNeely, Kimray, Inc.
Pneumatic controllers and pumps are vital to the safe and efficient operation of upstream and midstream oil and gas facilities. Yet their performance is heavily influenced by the quality and consistency of the motive gas that powers them. Traditional sources—wellhead gas and instrument air—often introduce problems such as moisture, contaminants, freeze-ups, and compressor or power-system failures. These issues reduce reliability and increase maintenance workloads. In this joint presentation, Kathairos Solutions, Kimray Inc., and an operator partner (TBD) will demonstrate how replacing these traditional motive gases with nitrogen delivers a fundamentally higher level of performance, simplicity, and operational confidence.
Nitrogen is inherently dry, inert, and contaminant-free. When provided through the ultra-reliable Kathairos liquid-nitrogen system—featuring no moving parts, no external power needs, and a stable, regulated supply—pneumatic controllers operate more smoothly and consistently. The result is a significant reduction in freeze-ups, fouling, elastomer degradation, and unplanned maintenance. Field deployments across more than 2,700 installations show exceptionally high reliability and long pneumatic asset life when powered by nitrogen.
Building on this reliability foundation, the presentation will then explore the operational and economic value of nitrogen for production uptime. Using a Delaware Basin techno-economic comparison, attendees will see how nitrogen prevents downtime and reactive maintenance events that frequently occur with instrument-air systems—such as compressor trips, dryer failures, battery outages, and cold-weather disruptions. With nitrogen’s consistent performance, operators maintain more stable production, experience fewer site visits, and deliver more volume to sales. The operational reliability of the LN₂ platform translates directly into measurable economic gains and lower lifecycle cost.
The session will conclude by showing how Kathairos’ Atlas™ platform leverages real-time nitrogen consumption data as a window into pneumatic system behavior. Because nitrogen usage mirrors pneumatic actuation, operators gain continuous visibility into abnormal consumption patterns, leaks, or malfunctioning devices—while also obtaining precise, regulator-validated quantification of methane emissions avoided through the transition to nitrogen.
Together, Kimray, Kathairos, and the participating operator will demonstrate why nitrogen has quickly become the preferred power gas for modern pneumatic operations—and how it delivers a step-change in reliability, uptime, and emissions transparency.