The recent trend in the oil industry is to save CAPEX and exploit every offshore field to increase production and maximize reserves. Also, deeper water and longer step-out is a challenge for new fields. The most adapted technology to unlock these reserves is the use of subsea boosting like a multiphase pump on the seafloor. Subsea boosting has been used for decades with well proven results, but up to now, some limitations in power and lift pressure exist. This new multiphase pump development has increased the potential pressure generation manyfold from the typical ΔP of 50 bar (725 psi) at the beginning of the project. Developing such a powerful two-phase pump driven by a liquid-filled motor requires a unique combination of expertise in machinery engineering, electrical engineering, fluid mechanics and rotor dynamics. The objective of the co-authors is to share this experience by bringing some insights on what it takes to develop, test, and qualify such specific product. Outlines of the methodology will be described, key results will be detailed, and lessons learnt will be presented. The new design was fully tested first component-wise and then for a full-size prototype. A wide process envelope was mapped during the final qualification program with 3,000 points tested in the range 2,000-6,000 RPM and 0 - 100% GVF (Gas Volume Fraction). Qualification tests concluded with more than 2,000 cumulative hours. The main challenges in this program were the development of an innovative multiphase impeller and the qualification of the first MPP (MultiPhase Pump) with a back-to-back configuration. Concerning the motor, the development includes a high speed 6,000 RPM, 6 MW liquid-filled induction motor and a new stator winding insulation cable. With this new product, the pump market is ready to overcome challenges to produce deeper and further reservoirs in a constant evolutive oil and gas market.
The oil and gas industry is continuously developing new technologies in answer to increasingly challenging demands. In the current market situation, where the oil price is dramatically reduced, these demands are strongly driven by finding the most cost efficient field development solutions. These solutions often call for stretching the requirements on subsea technologies. One solution that has been applied for years, with good track record, is the use of subsea boosting. Pressure on more efficient subsea boosting solutions has led to a number of development initiatives in the industry. Aker Solutions has, together with a few main oil companies, developed a new multiphase pump technology which is soon ready for the market. This will expand the operation envelope for subsea boosting and create better opportunities for more effective offshore field development. A parallel, and equally important, development activity has been the development of a new large duty, 6 MW, subsea motor. This paper will focus on the new 6 MW multiphase pump and motor developed and tested by Aker Solutions and its JIP partners. The step-wise applied development program will be reported, describing the main activities in the qualification of the new technology. Newly obtained results from the pump and motor qualification programs will be presented. Finally, an example will be presented on how this new boosting machine can be utilized to generate increased economic value for a subsea project. The new pump and motor opens up for improved field economics with a greater ability than ever before to maximize profit by increasing the oil recovery and reduce the total production time by, in some cases, several years. This has demonstrated to provide considerably improved net present value since the oil production peaks out years earlier.
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