Saipem and Curtiss-Wright Corporation have reached a new milestone for the subsea applications industry, having completed the qualification process of an all-electric seabed barrier fluid-less pump.
Developed based on proprietary solutions inherited from the nuclear sector, the technology will enable the subsea injection of treated sea water into a reservoir, thus extending the lifecycle of subsea fields.
While the conventional pumping system features a barrier fluid which serves as coolant, lubricant and insulation, the technology developed by Saipem and Curtiss-Wright is based instead on an innovative design whereby the subsea pump is cooled and lubricated by the sea water itself, while the motor is protected by a canned casing suitable for deepwater applications.
The absence of the barrier fluid avoids the need for its constant replenishment and the risk of sea water contamination.
Furthermore, due to Saipem’s ‘all-electric’ strategy, the technology allows the replacement of conventional hydraulic umbilicals with power/control cables, thus reducing costs.
This pump is said to be the first seal-less, barrier fluid-less subsea pump with such high power.
In 2018, Saipem and Curtiss-Wright signed an exclusive collaboration agreement to develop this new technology. A 3 MW full-scale prototype has been manufactured and tested in water through a specific program, which eventually confirmed the expected performance, robustness, and reliability.
This new solution is certified for several Saipem-proprietary subsea treatment technologies, including SPRINGS, the subsea desulfation technology owned by Saipem, TotalEnergies and Veolia.
This certification represents a fundamental goal as it validates the achievement of Technology Readiness Level 4 (TRL 4) as witnessed and endorsed by Petrobras and TotalEnergies and it marks the start of the relevant commercialization on a global scale.