Oil & Gas

Pneumatic drive solutions for oil & gas

The Core Problem

"Every hydrocarbon process stream is a potential ignition source away from a significant incident. In oil and gas, equipment selection in classified areas is not a procurement decision, it is a process safety decision."

Globe Airmotors are certified to ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU for operations on every major producing basin and in every refinery jurisdiction worldwide. Oil and gas operations produce classified hazardous areas in all three sectors of the industry.

Hazardous Area Classification

Explosive atmosphere continuously or long-term present

The highest-risk classification.Explosive gas mixture is present continuously or for long periods under normal operating conditions. Equipment must provide the highest level of protection — Category 1G.

Inside crude oil storage tanks above liquid level
Interior of process vessels and reactors
Inside petroleum product pipelines
Interior of gas separators and scrubbers

Explosive atmosphere likely during normal operation

Flammable gas or vapour is likely to be present during normal operations, though not continuously. Globe air motors are Zone 1 & 2 certified.

Wellhead areas and Christmas tree surrounds
Pump rooms handling flammable liquids
Areas around gas compressor seals
Refinery process unit working areas
Gas processing plant production decks

Explosive atmosphere unlikely in normal operation

Flammable gas is not expected under normal operations but may be present briefly during abnormal conditions.

Surrounding areas of Zone 1 process units
Storage tank bund areas
Pipeline valve station general areas
Refinery utility and maintenance areas

Why pneumatic

Engineers choose air motors in classified O&G areas

Six engineering characteristics that determine why pneumatic air motors are consistently specified over ATEX electric drives in oil and gas classified areas.

H2S and sour service compatibility	Upstream production in sour gas fields and refineries processing high-sulphur crude presents a material selection challenge that goes beyond ATEX certification. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) causes sulphide stress cracking in standard carbon steels and attacks standard electrical insulation systems.
Simple speed control	Pneumatic motor output is controlled by regulating compressed air supply pressure and flow using a simple regulator valve that carries no electronic components. Variable speed drive inverters for ATEX-certified electric motors must themselves be certified, housed in explosion-proof enclosures if located in the classified zone, and included in the site's ATEX equipment register with their own maintenance and inspection schedule. On oil and gas facilities where ATEX register management is a significant operational overhead, reducing the number of items on that register has measurable cost and compliance value.
Oil and gas infrastructure standard	Every production platform, gas processing plant, and refinery operates a compressed air utility network for instrumentation, control valves, pneumatic actuators, and tool supply. Connecting pneumatic drive equipment to this existing infrastructure requires no additional electrical cable routing, no new cable gland penetrations between classified zones, and no additional motor control centre capacity. The drive integrates into what is already there — a practical advantage that significantly simplifies the installation and commissioning scope for new equipment or motor replacements.
No thermal trip	Pump blockages, viscosity surges in high-temperature process streams, and valve position errors cause mechanical overloads on drive equipment with predictable regularity in oil and gas operations. Stall an air motor and it simply stops drawing compressed air. No thermal protection relay trips. No winding failure from sustained overload current. No requirement to enter a classified zone to reset an overload relay and restart the drive — a maintenance task that carries its own ATEX management of change implications on manned facilities and remote monitoring requirements on unmanned installations.
No ignition source	An air motor contains no electrical components. It generates no arc, no electromagnetic discharge, and no heat through resistive losses in the motor body. In a Zone 1 area at a wellhead or refinery process unit where explosive hydrocarbon atmospheres are present during normal operations, that fundamental difference means the drive contributes zero ignition risk — not reduced risk, zero — without requiring explosion-proof enclosures around electrical components that would otherwise present that risk.

The Results

Applications by sector

Where Globe air motors are specified across the O&G value chain

Upstream — Exploration & Production

Wellhead chemical injection	Methanol, scale inhibitor, and corrosion inhibitor injection pump drives at wellhead Christmas trees. Zone 1 around wellhead areas — air-powered injection pumps eliminate ignition sources at the point where reservoir gas is at its most concentrated.
Production separator agitation	Continuous duty agitator drives on three-phase production separators handling gas, oil, and produced water. Classified Zone 1 environments where hydrocarbon gas is present throughout normal separator operation — air motors eliminate electrical components from the vessel head-space.
Gas/water injection pump drives	Auxiliary drive systems on water injection and gas reinjection pump skids — wellbore pressure maintenance in enhanced oil recovery operations. Air motor auxiliaries on pump lubrication, seal flushing, and chemical injection systems operating in Zone 1 classified pump areas.
Produced water treatment	Flotation cell agitator drives, dissolved gas flotation skid motors, and transfer pump auxiliaries in produced water treatment systems. Adjacent to Zone 1 wellhead areas — Zone 2 classified treatment equipment where pneumatic drives reduce the ATEX equipment register scope.

Midstream — Processing & Transport

Gas processing plant mixers	Amine contactor and glycol dehydration unit agitator drives in gas sweetening and dehydration plants. Process units handling raw natural gas with H2S content.
Pipeline pump station drives	Auxiliary motor systems at pipeline pump and compressor stations — lubrication pump drives, seal gas systems, and chemical injection auxiliaries. Zone 1 classified pump rooms on mainline crude and products pipeline stations where air motor drives connect to site compressed air without additional ATEX electrical infrastructure.
LNG terminal loading equipment	Auxiliary drives for cryogenic pump systems, BOG compressor room equipment, and loading arm positioning systems at LNG export and import terminals. Zone 1 classified areas under the IGC Code framework — air motor drives serve both the ignition-protection and the cryogenic-material-compatibility requirements simultaneously.
NGL fractionation & storage	Drive systems on NGL fractionation column auxiliaries, bullet tank filling equipment, and LPG terminal transfer systems. Zone 2 classified areas adjacent to NGL and LPG handling — air motors remove electrical ignition sources from areas where propane and butane vapour concentrations can reach explosive limits during loading operations.

Downstream — Refining & Petrochemical

Refinery process unit drives	Mixing, agitation, and pump drive systems across crude distillation, vacuum distillation, and catalytic cracking units. Zone 1 classified process unit areas where hydrocarbon vapour at elevated temperature is present during normal operations — the most common ATEX Zone 1 environment in downstream operations.
Tank farm transfer & blending	Blend header pump drives and in-tank agitator systems in crude oil and products storage tank farms. Classified Zone 1 within tank bund areas during filling operations — air motor drives on blending and transfer equipment eliminate ignition sources from the areas with highest vapour concentration during product movements.
Petrochemical reactor auxiliaries	Auxiliary drive systems for reactor jacket circulation, catalyst handling equipment, and product transfer in petrochemical production facilities. Zone 2 classified areas adjacent to primary reactor zones — air motor auxiliaries reduce the density of electrical equipment in areas where the hazardous area management plan is already complex.
Fuel terminal loading	Drive systems on road and rail tanker loading equipment, additive injection skids, and metering systems at fuel distribution terminals. Zone 2 classified loading areas — air motor auxiliaries on loading arms and dosing equipment connect to existing site compressed air without the electrical infrastructure requirements of ATEX electric alternatives.

// Sour service and material selection

H2S environments: the material challenge beyond ATEX

ATEX certification addresses ignition risk. Sour service addresses a separate, equally significant engineering challenge: the corrosive and cracking effects of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) on metallic equipment in upstream production and gas treatment environments.

H2S in produced gas and sour crude causes sulphide stress cracking (SSC) in carbon steel and certain alloy steels — a failure mode that can cause rapid, unpredictable fracture of pressurised components without visible prior degradation. For rotating equipment in sour gas fields and gas sweetening plants, material selection must satisfy to the ATEX zone specification for the installation area.

Globe Airmotors specifies motor housing materials, internal components, and seals compatible with sour service environments on request. Upstream operators in high-H2S fields including Middle Eastern, North African, and certain North Sea assets routinely specify this combination for wellhead chemical injection and gas processing plant drive equipment.

Sour service specification	The primary international standard for metallic material selection in H2S-containing oil and gas production environments. Covers carbon steels, low-alloy steels, and corrosion-resistant alloys for use in sour service conditions — defining maximum hardness limits, heat treatment requirements, and acceptable alloy compositions that resist sulphide stress cracking. Globe can supply material traceability documentation and material test reports (MTRs) confirming ATEX certification.

Sour service specification

The primary international standard for metallic material selection in H2S-containing oil and gas production environments. Covers carbon steels, low-alloy steels, and corrosion-resistant alloys for use in sour service conditions — defining maximum hardness limits, heat treatment requirements, and acceptable alloy compositions that resist sulphide stress cracking.

Globe can supply material traceability documentation and material test reports (MTRs) confirming ATEX certification.

Globe Airmotors oil & gas range

Key parameters for ATEX certified oil and gas configurations. Oil and gas applications vary significantly in zone classification, process temperature, H2S content, and compressed air supply conditions. Confirm the correct specification for your application with our engineering team.