Norwegian operator Statoil has joined Aker BP, Lundin, and National Oilwell Varco in a DEMO2000 joint industry project (JIP) to develop a new subsea booster pump.
The project aims to bring the Fuglesangs Subsea Omnirise single-phase booster to market by early 2019. It’s a pump which doesn’t require mechanical shaft seals, which Fuglesangs says is the source of 70% of subsea pump failures. As a result, it also doesn’t require barrier fluid, use of which means having to have topside hydraulic equipment and delivery via umbilicals.
Traditional variable speed drives, used in such systems, also add considerable weight and volume topside, with projected subsea versions looking equally as bulky.
The Omnirise system gets rid of all these elements through a patented Hydromag Drive Unit, which is a combination of a fixed low-speed subsea electric motor, a variable-speed torque converter, and high-performance magnetic coupling. “The improvements deliver benefits throughout the system,” says CEO Alexander Fuglesang, “from eliminating the weakest link and reducing topside and subsea equipment, to enabling cost-effective, standardized and highly modular boosting units.”
Rystad Energy has estimated that Omnirise can provide US$18.5 million (NOK 150 million) capex savings on a single-well boosting installation, compared to conventional boosting systems. OPEX is also reduced, due to less topside equipment to maintain. When combined with Seabox, a water filtration system, Omnirise could be installed as a fully subsea solution, says Fuglesangs.
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