Plant Utilities worked example

Nitrogen Use Cost at 99% usage assigned to production: a worked example

This scenario runs the nitrogen use cost calculation on the strong side: 99% usage assigned to production, with every other input held at its documented default. Use it when reviewing nitrogen use cost for a utility budget, maintenance priority, capacity check, energy project, or production support plan.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Nitrogen usage: 24,000 scf (unchanged)
  • Delivered nitrogen cost: 0.09 $ / scf (unchanged)
  • Usage assigned to production: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 95)
  • Cylinder rental and delivery adder: 180 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Total nitrogen use cost = nitrogen usage × delivered nitrogen cost × usage assigned to production + cylinder rental and delivery adder) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 2,318 $ for total nitrogen use cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 0.1 $ / item for cost per item or period.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 2,138 $ for variable nitrogen use cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 180 $ for fixed utility adder.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where usage assigned to production sits at 95% and the headline result is 2,232 $, this scenario comes in 3.87% above the baseline at 2,318 $.
  • Use it when costing a nitrogen-consuming process, quoting jobs, or allocating gas spend between production and non-production use. Treat this as a target state: the delta against the baseline quantifies what the improvement is worth before you commit to chasing it.

Results at a glance

  • Total nitrogen use cost: 2,318 $ (headline result)
  • Cost per item or period: 0.1 $ / item
  • Variable nitrogen use cost: 2,138 $
  • Fixed utility adder: 180 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Nitrogen Use Cost calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.