Company Report: SemCAMS
SemCAMS SemCAMS: Getting Natural Gas to Market

Calgary's SemCAMS is the critical link in getting natural gas products from the original source to the eventual consumer

It may take a lot of work to draw the raw ingredients for gas, sulfur, butane and propane from the ground, but it also requires a tireless perseverance to refine natural gas into these products in a safe and economical way.
"For the safety of the surrounding communities, the environment and our employees we have to do regular inspections while in operation, or inspections which require periodic shutdown of our facilities," says Chris Hayes, senior VP of operations for SemCAMS. "This means going inside particular vessels to make sure what we measure from the outside is what we find to be the case on the inside."
For Calgary, Alberta-based SemCAMS, these periodic self inspections are a necessary interruption to business, which is based on carrying natural gas from the field to one of the company's gas plants, and then ultimately on to market. While the company is based in Calgary, its operations are centered approximately 300 miles to the northwest and cover an area of roughly 20,000 square miles.
"We take natural gas and associated products from producers, oil and gas companies you may be familiar with such as BP, Apache, Devon, as well as numerous other smaller companies," says Hayes, "and transport the gas through a number of our pipelines, and process that gas and associated products to sales products such as natural gas that goes into your house to fire the furnace or cook with."
Obviously, moving raw gas through various segments of its 600 miles of pipelines to one of its three gas plants has its risks, which is why the company takes its inspections as seriously as it does.
To enhance the effectiveness of its maintenance and safety inspections

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