Celeros Flow Technology has injected new life into a heritage pump for a Canadian heavy oil recovery customer, enabling them to increase production. The pump – a Mather & Platt BB5 – was greater than forty years previous and had been topic to quite a few post-installation alterations.
Heavy oil deposits are extremely viscous and require the injection of excessive strain, excessive temperature steam to improve fluidity and allow the oil to be pumped to the floor. In order to boost extraction on this venture, the client wanted to extend water temperatures from 90° C to 140° C. However, there have been issues that the present pump could not be succesful of deliver this requirement. Nozzle masses have been a particular concern. They turned to Celeros Flow Technology brand ClydeUnion Pumps, their preferred supplier of some 20 years, for help.
Mather & Platt is considered one of a quantity of heritage pump brands for which Celeros Flow Technology offers full lifecycle support1. Unconventional engineering team undertook an intensive examination of the quadragenarian Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) boiler feed water pump used within the heavy oil extraction course of. The investigation revealed that the pump had suffered numerous seal failures over time that had damaged the stuffing box and affected operational efficiency. There had additionally been no upkeep interventions for many years – however the pump had by no means really failed.
Says Mike Golds, Global Upgrade and Rerate Programme Manager for ClydeUnion Pumps: “It is testomony to the standard of the original pump that it had continued to operate in such harsh situations and with no regular upkeep over such an extended time frame. More importantly, it gave us confidence that a thorough overhaul might obtain the desired enchancment in efficiency, saving the customer the fee and lost manufacturing time that can be related to sourcing and installing a model new unit.”
Celeros Flow Technology overhauled the SAGD pump and performed a mechanical seal upgrade and Plan 23 seal flush to optimize pump performance. In addition, finite factor analysis was undertaken to confirm that the nozzle loads would face up to the desired temperature increase. As a result, the pump is now capable of delivering steam at the greater temperatures required. The seal upgrades ensure it meets the newest specs.
Concludes Mike Golds: “We are really happy with the end result of the SAGD pump upgrade. It has not only achieved the specified manufacturing increase for the client, but additionally provided a more sustainable and cost-effective answer than whole pump alternative. Using modern engineering and analysis, we have been in a place to give the prevailing pump a new lease of life and guarantee it’s going to proceed to carry out nicely for many more years.”
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