Next Generation Multiphase Pump Solutions for Heavy Grade Crude Oil Production

SPECIAL REPORT

Next Generation Multiphase Pump Solutions for Heavy Grade Crude Oil Production Next Generation Multiphase Pump Solutions for Offshore Oil and Gas Production Time is Right for Multi-Phase Pumps Multi-Phase Pumps: The Next Generation Equipment for Modern Oil Discovery Getting the Most out of Multi-Phase Pumps Multi-Phase Pumps – Now and Into the Future

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Published by Global Business Media

SPECIAL REPORT

Next Generation Multiphase Pump Solutions for Heavy Grade Crude Oil Production Next Generation Multiphase Pump Solutions for Offshore Oil and Gas Production Time is Right for Multi-Phase Pumps Multi-Phase Pumps: The Next Generation Equipment for Modern Oil Discovery Getting the Most out of Multi-Phase Pumps

NEXT GENERATION MULTIPHASE PUMP SOLUTIONS FOR HEAVY GRADE CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION

Contents

Multi-Phase Pumps – Now and Into the Future

Foreword 2 Tom Cropper, Editor Sponsored by

Published by Global Business Media

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Next Generation Multiphase Pump Solutions 3 for Offshore Oil and Gas Production Leistritz Advanced Technologies Corp.

Sven Olson, Senior Consultant

Introduction Key Drivers for Multiphase Pumping The New Trends The Need to Add Pump Capacity Both Offshore and Onshore Summary

Time is Right for Multi-Phase Pumps

8

Tom Cropper, Editor

The Price of Oil on a Rollercoaster The Effects on the Offshore Drilling Market Other Opportunities The Continuing Demand for Pumps

Multi-Phase Pumps: The Next Generation 10 Equipment for Modern Oil Discovery Jo Roth, Staff Writer

A Brief History Multiphase versus Single Phase A Process of Education

Getting the Most out of Multi-Phase Pumps

12

James Butler, Staff Writer

Making the Right Choice Potential Issues Looking to the Long Term

Multi-Phase Pumps – Now and Into the Future

14

Tom Cropper, Editor

Arctic Exploration Evolving Technology

References 17

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NEXT GENERATION MULTIPHASE PUMP SOLUTIONS FOR HEAVY GRADE CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION

Foreword T

HE OIL and gas industry is known for being

from aging oil wells means many conventional

cautious about new technologies. However,

systems no longer fit the bill.

even by those standards, the introduction of

Jo Roth will then look into the history of multi-phase

multi-phase pumps into the offshore marketplace

pumps in the oil and gas industry. As he explains,

has been long and drawn out. It was back in the

they have had to endure a long journey to acceptance,

seventies when the first tests were performed, but

but now they seem to present a perfect fit for the

it took until the noughties until the industry really

modern offshore oil and gas environment – one

started putting it to use.

which offers operational benefits and cost savings

Now they are becoming increasingly common,

on multiple levels.

driven by the need to improve productivity, extend

James Butler will then look at some of the benefits

mature well life, reduce environmental impact and

more closely and examine the key issues buyers need

control operational costs.

to think about when purchasing a system. Awareness

The first article in our Report comes from one of

levels of multi-phase pumps and their potential

the leading manufacturers of multi-phase pump

benefits are low, which is why it pays for buyers to

systems, Leistritz Advanced Technologies Corp.

find out as much as possible about the market.

They outline the key benefits of multi-phase pump

Finally, we analyze the key developmental trends

technology in comparison to conventional pumps,

impacting the market. Exploration and production

as well as looking at the key development trends.

is changing, so technology is changing with it. This

The next piece goes on to investigate these points in more detail. First we look at the commercial and

will play a key role in shaping the nature of the next generation of multi-phase pump technologies.

economic trends impacting the market. Low oil price makes buyers extremely price sensitive and cautious when it comes to introducing any new technology.

Even so, the need to extract as much oil as possible

Tom Cropper Editor

Tom Cropper has produced articles and reports on various aspects of global business over the past 15 years. He has also worked as a copywriter for some of the largest corporations in the world, including ING, KPMG and the World Wildlife Fund.

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NEXT GENERATION MULTIPHASE PUMP SOLUTIONS FOR HEAVY GRADE CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION

Next Generation Multiphase Pump Solutions for Offshore Oil and Gas Production Leistritz Advanced Technologies Corp.

Sven Olson, Senior Consultant

Introduction Multiphase pumping is not a new technology.

It has more than two decades of history starting with testing in flow loops in the US and in Europe followed by installations on platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and in Asia. From experience gained with these first installations we have seen how the technology has advanced to become a very important contributor in oil and gas production.

With the present oil price break down and the downturn in the oil and gas business, even more attention has been given to the possibilities of using this technology to maintain and enhance production in todays cost driven environment.

With large-scale deep water developments presently on the back burner, much more attention is focused on expanding and extending production in mature brown field assets. Marginal development of tiebacks to existing process facilities are high on the agenda. Presently there is an abundance of such underused facilities in the Gulf of Mexico which operators can take advantage of by using subsea boosting with tiebacks or adding multiphase boosting to existing well head platforms.

Multiphase pumping technology has gone from single pump installations with a minimum of equipment and limited capacity to the next generation of installations with multiple pumps

MODULE

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NEXT GENERATION MULTIPHASE PUMP SOLUTIONS FOR HEAVY GRADE CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION

With large-scale deep water developments presently on the back burner, much more attention is focused on expanding and extending production in mature brown field assets

working in parallel off a common suction header and packaged as self containing complete modules with driver, auxiliary support equipment, automation and controls.

Key Drivers for Multiphase Pumping Facility reduction Moving the combined production from the producing field to a central processing facility on a platform or on an FPSO by co-mingling oil, water and gas in a one single flow line and eliminating separation, compression and pumping, Production increase and improving total recovery By facilitating reservoir to well inflow as a result of lower bottom-hole pressure will accelerate production, increasing total recovery and delaying well abandonment. The draw down of flowing well head pressure will also help low pressure producing wells to buck flow-line pressure.

Environmental benefits By eliminating flaring of associated gas or venting during production and well testing regulatory restrictions can be met. The mandatory lowering of hydrocarbon emissions is now in place in many countries throughout the world. Compared to conventional equipment much less footprint is required.

Flow assurance Multiphase pumping can positively mitigate hydrate blockage by lowering flowing pressure in flow lines below hydrate formation point avoiding issues with shut in flow lines and also significantly reducing costs for MEG. Heavy oils, shear sensitive water/oil emulsions and waxy crudes can be transported without risking blockage and added agitation improving first stage separator efficiency.

Eliminating slugging and surging Multiphase pumping will provide a smooth pumping action without pulsations and vibrations.

It can handle any flow regime without detriment to the equipment and assist in reducing the hazards of slugging and surging in flow lines and risers.

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Subsea boosting The technology is designed to boost the total production from the mud line to the process facility tie back either to a production platform or an FPSO, also with high viscosity and high GOR. This reduces the need for platforms and fixed structures and can be retrieved and serviced using modern intervention vessels.

The New Trends The new generation of multiphase pumps has grown significantly in capacity, pressure boost and gas handling. This is in response to demand for larger and more complete installations serving larger and larger producing assets and as the sole technology to bring production from the well to process. The horsepower per pump has gone up substantially from just under a couple of hundred to the present several thousands.

And the development continues with large subsea pumps provided with distributed high voltage power supply in deep water. The extreme pressure and temperature conditions require special designs, which are thoroughly tested and qualified.

MPP DEPLOYMENT

The Need to Add Pump Capacity With larger demands on capacity, especially in high GOR fields, it has become necessary to operate several pumps in parallel mode. Not only by varying the speed of individual pumps but also being able to add pump capacity as more wells are put on stream, it became necessary to develop suction headers designed to equally distribute gas and liquid to each pump as needed. In addition to the design of headers, controls and automation are enhanced to cope with varying flow demands and to ensure that the pumps always keep the wellhead pressure at a preset constant.

NEXT GENERATION MULTIPHASE PUMP SOLUTIONS FOR HEAVY GRADE CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION

PARALELL OPERATION OF MPP

SUCTION HEADER

The operations and maintenance of the pumps has become more streamlined leading to increased confidence by operators. Continuous improvements have been carried out to the sealing system to avoid spills or vapor emissions.

The reliability of the mechanical seals, which are the dominant shaft seal arrangement, has increased substantially over the years. Double mechanical seals with a supporting barrier fluid system are now the preference in the market.

They are equipped with an inlet pressure tracing system, which always allows for higher barrier fluid pressure than the inlet flow to the pump. The challenges of variations of pump inlet conditions, such as slugging or surging and also going from shut-in pressure to settle out pressure to

API PLAN 53C BARRIER FLUID SYSTEM

full draw down pressure can be assured by the barrier fluid system.

When the first twin-screw multiphase pumps were introduced in high GOR wells some years ago, it was early demonstrated how good these pump were in handling large amounts of gas. The multiphase flow regime can be everything from

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NEXT GENERATION MULTIPHASE PUMP SOLUTIONS FOR HEAVY GRADE CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION

In the twin-screw pump, which is a non-contacting pump design, the rotors do not come into contact with each other or with a surrounding liner

TEKEL MPP PACKAGE

annular flow, to mist flow, to stratified and slug flow and anything in between. In the twin-screw pump, which is a non-contacting pump design, the rotors do not come into contact with each other or with a surrounding liner. Therefore, they have excellent gas handling capabilities and can go as high as 97% GVF at pump inlet (GVF is Gas Void Fraction at inlet temperature and pressure as a percentage of the entire inlet flow.)

To handle the varying flow regimes of multiphase flow, the pump is supported by a liquid knockout boot or a separator at the discharge, which traps some of the process liquids. With the help of the pump’s differential pressure the liquids are circulated back by the pump suction. This feature helps the pumps to retain the liquid necessary for sealing the screws and remove the compression heat. The efficiency of recirculation has been improved in recent developments by cooling the liquid stream and adding a pumping device to force recirculation when the pump operates at low differential pressure. This allows operation during long gas slugs, which will happen during startup as the pump draws down a gas column in a well or a riser, and helps to keep the pressure boost without interruption due to gas locking. The pump torque demand remains the same whether compressing gas or pumping liquids.

An important trend is the “black box “concept.

The multiphase pumps are not supplied as components or separate items but as a

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THE ANNULUS GAS UNIT (MAGU)

complete packaged system with the driver and all supporting equipment included and optimized together with the pump. This is still the core of the system. However, it would not function properly without a well-engineered support system. Reliability and uptime today is improved largely today with monitoring and controls for unmanned operation and tie-ins of the complete production process.

Both Offshore and Onshore The newer developments described above have made multiphase pumping an even more attractive solution for offshore production in the future. The same also plays an important role in onshore production. The trend here seems to go for standard packages for specific field applications. In parallel to its offshore offerings, Leistritz has also introduced such standardized multiphase pumping packages as detailed below:

NEXT GENERATION MULTIPHASE PUMP SOLUTIONS FOR HEAVY GRADE CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION

THE GATHERING UNIT (MGS)

string is often a major task. Most systems today rely on venting or flaring the gas to lift the liquids in the tubing, which often runs into regulatory hurdles. The MBDU is based on a multiphase pump connected to the well and by drawing down the wellhead pressure the tubing velocity increases and the liquids will move out.

Summary THE BLOW DOWN UNIT (MBDU)

A multiphase pumping package to draw down the annulus gas pressure to increase the pump jack or ESP uptime. By lowering the bottom hole pressure for better well inflow, the pump off is maintained and total production increased.

This system allows lowering of the field pressure to assist declining wells and also enables low producing wells to overcome flow line pressure and start flowing.

In wet gas production with liquid logged gas wells the removal of liquids from the production

The manufacturers of multiphase pumps and systems are continuously developing their products to meet new challenges in offshore and onshore production. With anticipated low prices of both oil and gas for some time, the operators could benefit from the advances of this technology by better using existing assets and facilities. There is an educational need that manufacturers have to support. With all the bad news coming daily from the industry, it is possible that the advances and benefits of multiphase pumping do not make the impact they deserve.

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NEXT GENERATION MULTIPHASE PUMP SOLUTIONS FOR HEAVY GRADE CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION

Time is Right for Multi-Phase Pumps Tom Cropper, Editor Low prices, tight profit margins and the need to maximize production drive the move towards more sophisticated pumping technology.

Although Brent Crude oil topped the $44 per barrel mark in the wake of Kuwait’s strike, experts remained cautious and hopes that OPEC might agree to freeze production at a meeting in Doha proved fruitless

I

T WAS the news global oil companies had hoped not to hear – at least for a little while longer. Kuwait’s oil workers had agreed to end their strike and return to work. The dispute had seen Kuwait’s oil production half and had helped beleaguered oil prices to climb a few points.

Now, though, with returning workers promising to push production back up to previous levels1, prices were again on a downward curve.

The Price of Oil on a Rollercoaster It is sometimes easy to forget the scale and speed of the oil price crisis over the past 24 months.

From highs of more than $100 per barrel, prices hit lows in February of around $30. Signs in recent weeks of a recovery have been tempered somewhat. Although Brent Crude oil topped the $44 per barrel mark in the wake of Kuwait’s strike, experts remained cautious and hopes that OPEC might agree to freeze production at a meeting in Doha proved fruitless. CNBC have predicted oil prices to head back towards the $30 mark before rebounding to $55 over the course of the next 12 months2.

Charting the course of future prices is difficult.

Indeed, the one consistent over the past few years has been unpredictability. China’s thirst for oil, which pushed prices up from $30 per barrel in 2003 to around $140 in 2008, caught experts off guard3. Similarly, they did not predict the crash of 2014. Even when prices had halved to around $50 per barrel, few believed prices could soon be dropping even further. Now they appear marooned in the range of $30 to $60, for the short term at least.

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The Effects on the Offshore Drilling Market These low prices are having a substantial impact on the offshore drilling market. The industry’s push into deeper waters is showing signs of slowing and high capex markets such as the North Sea have been particularly badly hit.

Major energy companies have announced substantial cuts in their offshore budgets.

Shell, for example, has slashed spending in the North Sea by $15bn4. In January 2016, BP announced that one in five North Sea oil jobs would be cut5. The Chancellor reacted in the 2016 budget by introducing a range of tax cuts for North Sea oil companies in an attempt to reduce the impact6.

The falling oil price has led to delays of other deep water projects around the world. A report from Wood McKenzie in January found that a total of 68 new oil and gas projects worth almost $400bn had been shelved since the oil price drop7.

Even so spending is continuing. A Douglas Westwood report in 2015 found that despite delays, deep water spend would total $210bn between 2015 and 20198. This would represent a 69% increase on the previous five-year period, with growth being driven by fields in Latin America, West Africa and East Africa. Although oil prices are low and exploration is perhaps less than first predicted, there are still positive returns to be had.

Other Opportunities With deep-water proving to be more challenging, oil companies are also looking to further exploit

NEXT GENERATION MULTIPHASE PUMP SOLUTIONS FOR HEAVY GRADE CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION

existing oil fields. Here there is considerable scope for success. Billions of barrels of hard to reach oil lie buried in existing oil fields. Previous extraction techniques would have been unable to reach these sources but, as technology improves, oil companies are finding ways to extend dramatically the life-expectancy of aging wells. Recent developments at the Valhall field in the North Sea, for example, including a rebuilt platform and enhanced recovery techniques, have seen its life expectancy increased to 20509.

The offshore industry, then, is experiencing two key commercial trends which will influence the future of the pumps market. First, it is looking to extract more oil from existing fields and secondly, it is still looking for more deep water exploration. Both these developments create strong demand for pumps.

The Continuing Demand for Pumps That demand is reflected in the market. Research from Impeller.Net found that the global subsea pumps market was $1bn in 2014, spurred, in part, by high capital expenditure in E&P. At a time of peak oil price, investment in exploration had reached almost $700bn. The price drops of 2015 hit spending to a degree. Investment dipped by 20% in 2015 and the report expects a further, but smaller, decline of 5% to 10% in 2016. Even so, it believes the pumps market will remain relatively robust in the next few years, retaining most of its value10.

Meanwhile, a study from Transparency Market Research is more positive. It predicts the subsea

pumps market to grow at CAGR of 7.1% between 2014 and 2020 – a recognition of heightened market demand11. The largest share of the market will be made up of helico-axial pumps (HAP) while Electrical Submersible Pumps (ESP) will follow close behind. Twin Screw Pumps (TSP) will also see significant growth.

This growth will increase focus on the pumps market, while the changing nature of offshore oil production will see a greater emphasis on new and more sophisticated technologies.

Conventional pumping systems are increasingly being seen as impractical and uncommercial.

As a result, multi-phase pumps are becoming a common feature of new oil production projects.

They offer multiple gains in a number of crucial areas: improved performance, lower footprint, less cost and a better environmental profile.

Small wonder, then, that they are attracting so much attention.

The number of manufacturers is growing, but that can also lead to a surplus of products which may not be able to deliver on promised performance. As the Impeller market research also showed, established names which already have a reputation and a track record of success are at a key advantage and continue to dominate the market.

The next few years are likely to see further development within the multi-phase pump market as manufacturers adapt new designs to cater for the evolving nature of the market.

Increased power requirements, drilling depths and reliability demands will play a crucial role in shaping the evolution of these products now and into the future.

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Multi-Phase Pumps: The Next Generation Equipment for Modern Oil Discovery Jo Roth, Staff Writer How multi-phase pumping technology is finally proving its value compared to conventional technologies.

Different types of multiphase pumping systems will be more useful for different situations.

Understanding what to use and when is difficult and requires substantial ongoing technical support from the end supplier

F

OR DECADES, the offshore oil and gas industry has relied upon tried and tested pump technologies. Now, though, a number of factors are coming together to force a change of thought. First, oil is becoming harder to extract. With significant reserves of stranded oil in pockets around the world, the industry needs technologies which can access them in an economically sustainable away.

Multi-phase pumps represent an ideal fit for this goal. They are proving themselves lighter and more economic to run, as well as being able to increase production from older wells. Today, they are seen very much as a cutting edge technology of the future, but in truth they have been around for decades.

A Brief History Research first began back in the 70s when the French Institute of Petroleum and Total began looking at the applicability of multiphase pumping on the topside. In the 80s, Mobil, Shell and Stothert & Pitt created a joint venture with a twin screw concept. By 1985, Bornemann had taken that twin screw design and operated it successfully for 3,500 hours in a specifically constructed test rig.

In 1985 Total, Statoil and IFP initiated the Poseidon HAP project. The aim of this five-year plan was to create a reliable multi-phase pump and by 1991 they had it. A workable pump ran in Tunisia for a total of 4,000 hours without experiencing any problems.

By now the multi-phase pump was attracting headlines, but was still seen as very much a technology of the future. True, it might have

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potential, but it was untried and viewed as unreliable. Until these pumps had proven themselves, the industry was still tempted to stick with tried and trusted pumping solutions.

Progress continued through the 90s. In 1995 a HAP type pump installed by Shell successfully increased flow within a well. More followed and by the early 2000s, the industry was seriously starting to take notice as the Oil and Gas Journal reported in 200312. Its article highlighted benefits including emissions reduction, production increases and cost savings. By now, there were hundreds in operation around the world. In 2005 the first subsea TSP type multi-phase pump was commissioned by CND as part of a pilot project in the Lyell field in the North Sea. Shortly afterwards, BP was installing units in deep water within the Gulf of Mexico.

Multiphase versus Single Phase Today, the technology is evolving rapidly. As oil in mature fields becomes harder to reach, and exploration takes place in deeper waters and more remote locations, the benefits of multiphase pumps over and above conventional single-phase devices are beginning to be felt keenly.

These include: •P roduction: Because they can handle low inlet pressures, they are ideal for reducing flowing back pressure. For fields in which natural pressure is no longer enough to force oil to the surface, even a small reduction in pressure contributes to substantial increased production.

In some places, multi-phase pumps have been shown to increase production by thousands

NEXT GENERATION MULTIPHASE PUMP SOLUTIONS FOR HEAVY GRADE CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION

of barrels per day. A report from Dal Porto and Larson (1997)13 suggested the running costs of multi-phase pumping systems could be 70% lower than their conventional counterparts, leading to a double gain in both revenue and costs.

•E conomic: These pumps do not require the separation of oil, gas or water as conventional single phase pumps do. Thus, all production can be transported quickly to a central processing unit without the necessity of separate individual lines. This means less infrastructure, which results in lower installation costs, and ongoing cost of ownership.

•L ighter and smaller: Multi-phase units are increasingly coming in a lighter and smaller footprint than rather bulkier single-phase pumps, resulting in a further reduction in price. They are designed to be retrievable by a light intervention vessel which keeps costs to a minimum.

•E nvironment: The oil and gas industry is coming under increasing pressure to manage its environmental impact. Multi-phase pumping offers a way to reduce one of the most harmful impacts of the offshore industry – gas flaring.

Every year, an estimated 140 billion cubic meters of natural gas is flared around the world resulting in 350 million tons of CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere14. The industry is working hard to reduce the amount of methane and CO2 being released. Its Zero Routine Gas Flaring by 2030 initiative now has the backing of 45 governments and companies.

Achieving this goal is challenging. Equipment to capture gas has traditionally been expensive, but

multi-phase pumps may present an opportunity.

Because they can transfer natural gas along with oil and water for processing, they reduce the amount of gas which would otherwise be sent for flaring. In turn, this enables the drilling company to capture, store and eventually resell the gas, adding more to their bottom-line performance.

A Process of Education For all these benefits, however, there is still a considerable gap between what the technology can do and uptake within the industry. In part, this is down to a natural inertia within the oil and gas industry. It is naturally cautious about adopting any new technology, especially if conventional systems are perceived to be adequate. A new installation represents opportunity, but also cost and risk.

There is also some uncertainty about the performance of such systems, in part because there is little verifiable data about how they perform. Different types of multi-phase pumping systems will be more useful for different situations.

Understanding what to use and when is difficult and requires substantial ongoing technical support from the end supplier.

That awareness is growing, albeit not as quickly as many would like. The demands of oil and gas exploration are changing with more emphasis on enhancing recovery from older wells.

Conventional systems are increasingly being seen as unsuitable to the considerable demands of modern oil and gas exploration. As such, there is a greater imperative on operators to seek out new options. As multi-phase pumps prove their value in the real world, awareness will grow.

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Getting the Most out of Multi-Phase Pumps James Butler, Staff Writer Multi-phase pumping systems are becoming more and more common. Even so, much of the industry is in need of education about the best way to use them.

The selection criteria for multi-phase boosting options remain somewhat subjective and are frequently influenced by the vendors’ data, which may mask potential limitations of this emerging technology

T

HE ENERGY market has a problem.

Supply for oil and gas continues to outstrip demand and, so long as that’s the case, prices will remain low. This, in turn, makes exploration and production – especially in more difficult environments – economically challenging. At the same time, though, industry still needs more oil, which is why it has to continue pushing into deeper waters and squeezing more life from existing wells. Products such as multi-phase pumps, which promise a more affordable way to increase production for longer, represent a perfect fit. However, to deliver on that potential, the industry needs to understand how to use them.

The problem is that many areas of the industry do not. Marketing materials from leading manufacturers often focus on educating the consumer about multi-phase pumps and what they can do. Operators often appear uninformed about the technology or deeply skeptical.

Making the Right Choice A report into multi-phase pump technology for the offshore industry argued that much of the problem lay in the variety of different pump types available, disagreement about which type worked best in which situation and a lack of reliable information about how well these pumps performed.

“The selection criteria for multi-phase boosting options remain somewhat subjective and are frequently influenced by the vendors’ data, which may mask potential limitations of this emerging technology,” states the report in its introduction.

“Existing literature on multiphase pumping tends to focus on a certain pump type for a specific

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field application, but does not provide moregeneralized criteria for the selection of multiphase boosting solutions from among those available in the market15.”

With a lack of evidence available, it is difficult for buyers to make an informed buying decision.

To address the situation, therefore, the report conducted an in-depth survey into the attributes of the various systems on the market. What follows is a summary of its findings: The report focuses on three different types of multi-phase pumps: The Twin Screw Pump (TSP); the Hexicoaxial pump (HAP); and the Progressive Cavity Pump (PCP). Each of these will have different areas in which they are more effective than the other – be that onshore, offshore or subsea. Of these it’s the subsea deep water conditions which present the most challenging environment.

The survey revealed several key benefits including: • Increased production: Lower back-head pressure on flow formation means oil will flow faster for longer.

• Lower cost: Pumps require less equipment to install meaning lower initial and running costs.

•E xtending tieback distance: Production from multiple satellites can be gathered to a single remote host.

• Environmentally friendly: The systems can prevent gas flaring.

• Exploration in harsher environments: Because local processing facilities can be eliminated altogether there is reason to hope these can make it easier to operate in extremely harsh and remote environments, such as the Arctic.

NEXT GENERATION MULTIPHASE PUMP SOLUTIONS FOR HEAVY GRADE CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION

Potential Issues Equally, the report highlighted a number of serious issues. Variation in flow rates can impact on pump performance. Because a specific pump will have been chosen with conditions inside a well in mind, any changes can impact on its effectiveness. Variations in Gas Volume Fraction (GVF) can also cause problems. At times this can fluctuate between 100% gas and 100% liquid and can cause mechanical difficulties with the pump.

Different providers have different ideas about which type of pumps are most suited to which situation. Because there is relatively little in the way of independent verifiable studies into the actual effectiveness of certain types of pumps, buyers are often forced to rely on testing results and claims from the providers themselves.

These are not always 100% reliable. Tests in the laboratory can be slanted to provide the best possible result. Once facing real world conditions, the true performance could turn out to be very different. There can be wide fluctuations between what vendors say a system can do and actual performance.

Much, therefore, depends on the quality of the supplier. As a buyer, it is sound sense to place more value on any supplier who can demonstrate a successful track record of providing reliable systems to the offshore oil and gas industry. They will be more likely to have case studies illustrating the effectiveness of their systems and, also, will be

able to provide more valuable ongoing support and advice. This might include installing the right system and ensuring the best performance for years to come.

Looking to the Long Term Most of all, buyers must consider the environments in which they are working and the precise performance specifications they will be looking for. These are systems which will have to operate reliably for a prolonged period of time.

A multi-phase pumping system installed today will need to last for three to seven years, often in highly hostile environments.

The construction material will be crucial. It will need to be sturdy enough to withstand heavy contact and resistant to all types of corrosion.

Look for how it performs against CO2, salt water, hydrogen induced cracking, galvanic corrosion and microbial induced corrosion. Pumps will also need to withstand high pressure and a wide temperature range.

Different providers will offer different models, each of which will be rated to perform a certain task in certain conditions. Pump selection may depend on various factors such as GVF, head and flow rate, differential pressure fluid viscosity and RPM, and the length of time it will be required to operate. Before making a choice, any buyer will need to assess the conditions the pump is likely to face, how changeable they are and the goals they want to realize.

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NEXT GENERATION MULTIPHASE PUMP SOLUTIONS FOR HEAVY GRADE CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION

Multi-Phase Pumps – Now and Into the Future Tom Cropper, Editor Bigger, more powerful and more efficient – what the future holds for multi-phase pumps.

Conventional pumping systems are increasingly being seen as technically and commercially unviable, especially when set against the cheaper alternatives on offer from multi-phase pumps

A

“

BOOM is coming,” Joel Vázquez, the head of Mexican-Canadian drilling company DCM told the Wall Street Journal in 2014. “Not a week goes by without an oil company contacting us asking about making a joint venture or saying they’re interested in investing here16.”

He was referring to news that President Enrique Peña Nieto’s government had opened up offshore contracts to private bidders after years of state owned monopoly. The announcement was seen as triggering a new gold rush as new deep water fields came online. But, while these will take years to start pumping, much of the most immediate gains could be seen in mature oil fields.

Since then, much has changed. The global oil price has collapsed, and the oil and gas market appears to be gripped by caution. Even so, the opportunity remains. The waters in the Gulf of Mexico are rife with opportunities for exploitation.

Key to doing this will be multi-phase pumping technologies. These are ideal for exploiting mature oil pockets and other fields which have been deemed too small for commercial exploitation. Here there is a need for pumps which can accelerate production as well as pumping output to a central processing facility without separating gas and oil on-board the production platform.

Total’s CLOV, project, in particular, has seen the benefits of using multi-phase pumping technology. Speaking to EP Magazine, Jeremy Cutler, head of technology innovation at Total E&P, said that the project had succeeded in making previously uneconomic fields profitable.

“This was essentially four field developments in one and made four uneconomic fields economic.

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We used a standard building block—the FPSO unit—but used it very flexibly. It was the subsea side of it and the reservoir systems that were the biggest challenge17.”

Conventional pumping systems are increasingly being seen as technically and commercially unviable, especially when set against the cheaper alternatives on offer from multi-phase pumps. Not only do they require less infrastructure, but they can also maximize production for longer.

Multi-phase pumps are increasingly being used on board floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSO) without a pipeline connection to treatment facilities. These can travel to a small field, fix to the seabed and move on to another.

Arctic Exploration Elsewhere, off the coast of Alaska, there are hopes that multi-phase pumping technology could also help oil companies to finally tap the vast reserves of oil the energy industry is convinced lies north of the Arctic Circle.

Despite all the promise, exploration attempts have so far been fruitless. Both Statoil and Shell came up empty handed when they probed the regions, and the US government recently poured more cold water on the concept by cancelling two potential Arctic lease sales and not extending current leases18.

The problems stem largely from the high-risk hostile environment and from the difficulty of cleaning any spill should there be an incident.

Greenpeace has warned that it would be almost impossible to clear up a spill in the Arctic. Multiphase pumps are attracting attention as systems which could make it easier and safer to tap remote

NEXT GENERATION MULTIPHASE PUMP SOLUTIONS FOR HEAVY GRADE CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION

areas such as the Arctic and alleviate some environmental concerns. A 2012 report found that some Arctic operators were considering multiphase pumps, which could avoid the need for a topside host platform which may be surrounded by icebergs19.

Evolving Technology Demand for multi-phase pump systems is growing; the scope of exploration and production is expanding and the expectations are rising.

As such there is considerable pressure on the technology to improve and it is doing just

that. Already the market is seeing key trends emerging including: 1. More power Larger installations have increased demand for power. The next generation of pumps will be operating at a much higher level. Older products might have boasted horsepower of a few hundred. Today they are in the thousands.

2. Parallel operation Systems are increasingly being used in parallel, as power demands grow. Pumps can operate

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NEXT GENERATION MULTIPHASE PUMP SOLUTIONS FOR HEAVY GRADE CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION

Multi-phase pumps are increasingly being used in various configurations around the world – especially in newly operational pumping facilities

at varying speeds and capacity depending on requirements.

3. Reliability Early multi-phase pump designs were viewed as risky alternatives to more established technologies. Over time, maintenance has improved and become more streamlined increasing the confidence of operators in the integrity of the system.

4. The complete package Pumps are being supplied as a complete package rather than just as components. This makes life simpler and more straightforward for the operator and reduces the complexity of introducing a new system.

An example of where the latest systems are taking this technology can be seen with the Leistritz Multiphase Wellhead and Gathering Units.

The wellhead system offers a small footprint – crucial in offshore developments where space is at a premium. Any savings in weight and storage translates to important cost efficiencies. It increases production by lowering the wellhead pressure and boosting flow-back pressure which creates a powerful artificial lift.

Key to this design is economics. The system is light, small and requires no subsea separation facilities. It can also eliminate flaring, which boosts environmental performance as well as cost.

Their gathering system is designed to handle high volume production coming from multiple wells. It can cope with flow rates up to 550,000bpde and differential pressures up

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to 1400psi. It is ideal for overcoming flowline pressure for high producing wells.

Meanwhile, their blowdown units offer a more effective method of alleviating downhole pressure.

Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) can build up down the hole reducing gas-flow to a point where a line might even be shut. The conventional method is to disconnect the well from the pipeline and allow the well to free-flow into storage tanks, until the well is ready to go again. The pressure in these tanks is often vented directly into the atmosphere which creates an environmental hazard.

The blow down unit evacuates both liquids and trapped gasses and boosts well pressure allowing the gas and trapped liquids to flow into the pipeline. This eliminates the need to vent or flare gas, and allows operators to capture gas for use, as well as creating a safer working environment for rig workers.

Multi-phase pumps are increasingly being used in various configurations around the world – especially in newly operational pumping facilities. The direction of the market is currently favorable with the need for more economic production techniques and to maximize production from existing sources. Development is moving rapidly. Larger power outputs, more flexible designs and greater reliability are just some of the demands future oil production will bring for multi-phase pumps. Development is coming, but the wide range of pumps and the many different applications for which they could be used can create confusion for end buyers.

As the technology improves, there is also work to be done educating the market about what these pumps can do, how they can improve performance, and the best way to use them.

NEXT GENERATION MULTIPHASE PUMP SOLUTIONS FOR HEAVY GRADE CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION

References: Kuwait Oil Workers End Strike: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/19/oil-price-kuwait-oil-gas-workers-end-strike-pledge-to-push-production-back-up.html

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2

Oil Headed Back to $30 After Doha: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/18/oil-is-headed-to-30-after-doha-commentary.html

3

World Oil Price Chronology from 2003: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_oil_market_chronology_from_2003

Shell to Slash Spending: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/11376001/Shell-to-slash-spending-by-15bn-after-oil-price-collapse.html

4

5

BP to Axe 1 in 5 Jobs: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/12/bp-job-cuts-low-oil-prices

6

Oil and Gas Tax Cuts Revealed in Budget: http://www.offshoreenergytoday.com/uk-oil-gas-tax-cuts-revealed-in-budget-2016/

68 Upstream Projects Deferred: http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/142478/Wood_Mackenzie_68_Upstream_Projects_Deferred_Deepwater_Hardest_Hit

7

8

Deepwater Spend to Total $240bn: https://www.spe.org/ogf/print/subscribers/2015/06/05_GlobalMrkt_June15.pdf

9

Valhall Oilfield, a Timeline: http://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/valhall-oilfield-a-timeline/

10

Global Subsea Pumps Market: http://impeller.net/magazine/news_en/doc8741x.asp

11

Subsea Pumps Revenue:

https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2015/03/09/713546/10123820/en/Subsea-Pumps-Market-Revenue-is-Estimated-to-Reach-USD-1-539-1-Million-by-2020-Transparency-Market-Research.html

Multi-phase Pumping Addresses a Wide Range of Operation Problems: http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume-101/issue-37/special-report/multiphase-pumping-addresses-a-wide-range-of-operating-problems.html

12

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Comparison of Multi-phase Pump Technologies: https://www.onepetro.org/journal-paper/SPE-146784-PA

Bid to end Routine Gas Flaring: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2015/12/07/bid-to-end-routine-gas-flaring-gets-huge-boost-at-cop21

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Comparisons of Multi-phase Pumping Technologies: http://www.spe.org/ogf/print/archives/2012/02/02_12_16_146784.pdf

16

A New Oil Boom: http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-oil-boom-simmers-in-mexicos-aging-golden-belt-1415135825

17

Low Oil Price Challenge: http://www.epmag.com/low-oil-price-challenges-totals-deep-offshore-philosophy-840556#p=full

Obama Administration Closes off Two Avenues for New Arctic Drilling: http://fuelfix.com/blog/2015/10/16/obama-administration-closes-off-two-avenues-for-new-arctic-drilling/

18

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Comparison of Multi-phase Pump Technologies: http://www.spe.org/ogf/print/archives/2012/02/02_12_16_146784.pdf

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