Celeros Flow Technology has injected new life into a heritage pump for a Canadian heavy oil recovery customer, enabling them to increase manufacturing. The pump – a Mather & Platt BB5 – was more than 40 years previous and had been subject to quite a few post-installation alterations.
Heavy oil deposits are extremely viscous and require the injection of excessive strain, excessive temperature steam to enhance fluidity and allow the oil to be pumped to the surface. In order to boost extraction on this venture, the shopper needed to increase water temperatures from 90° C to 140° C. However, there were issues that the present pump might not be in a position to deliver this requirement. Nozzle masses were a particular concern. They turned to Celeros Flow Technology model ClydeUnion Pumps, their preferred supplier of some 20 years, for assistance.
Mather & Platt is considered one of several heritage pump manufacturers for which Celeros Flow Technology provides full lifecycle support1. pressure gauge engineering staff undertook a thorough examination of the quadragenarian Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) boiler feed water pump used in the heavy oil extraction process. The investigation revealed that the pump had suffered a variety of seal failures over time that had damaged the stuffing field and affected operational efficiency. There had also been no upkeep interventions for many years – however the pump had by no means actually failed.
Says Mike Golds, Global Upgrade and Rerate Programme Manager for ClydeUnion Pumps: “It is testomony to the quality of the original pump that it had continued to function in such harsh conditions and with no common upkeep over such an extended time frame. More importantly, it gave us confidence that a thorough overhaul may achieve the specified improvement in performance, saving the shopper the fee and lost production time that may be associated with sourcing and installing a new unit.”
Celeros Flow Technology overhauled the SAGD pump and performed a mechanical seal upgrade and Plan 23 seal flush to optimize pump efficiency. In addition, finite element analysis was undertaken to verify that the nozzle hundreds would face up to the specified temperature increase. As a outcome, the pump is now capable of delivering steam at the higher temperatures required. The seal upgrades guarantee it meets the most recent specs.
Concludes Mike Golds: “We are really happy with the finish result of the SAGD pump upgrade. It has not only achieved the desired production improve for the client, but additionally offered a more sustainable and cost-effective solution than complete pump replacement. Using fashionable engineering and evaluation, we now have been able to give the existing pump a new lease of life and guarantee it’ll continue to carry out well for many more years.”
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