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External Temperatures up to -40°C and up to 90% Gas in Pumped Material: The World’s Largest Progressing Cavity Pump for Crude Oil Beats Extreme Conditions

The changing consistency of the mixture of oil, water, solids and gas also puts immense stress on conveying systems. That is why the operator of an oil field in the Central Asian desert had a NETZSCH multiphase pump installed. The world’s largest progressing cavity pump in the industry is able to continue working even when there are strong fluctuations in the consistency of the material. Integrated heating and a lubricated gasket system were added to the system to beat the extreme weather conditions on site.

Sand, water and gas in particular in the unseparated crude oil repeatedly caused issues in the previous conveying system at the mine site in the middle of the Eurasian desert belt. The fluctuating and changing composition of the pumped material frequently brought the installed centrifugal rotary pumps to a standstill. The high energy costs were an additional disadvantage. The pumps were also not technically adapted to handling slugs – the plugs that develop when a mixture alternately has a high solid content and a high gas content; plugs can cause the material flow to break off, which damages the technology. The oil field operating company therefore decided to switch to a special multiphase pump to transport their crude oil.

Precise dosing, even at changing consistency of media

“Most pumps are either suitable for solids or for gases, depending on their design. Progressing cavity pumps, on the other hand, can handle all combinations,” explains Thomas Böhme, head of the Business Field Oil & Gas at NETZSCH Pumpen & Systeme GmbH in Waldkraiburg.

The technology is based on the principle of displacement. The medium moves from the suction housing to the conveying elements – the stator and the rotor. The undulated rotor rotates regularly inside the fixed stator creating closed conveying chambers between the two matched segments. The medium in these chambers is moved continuously from the suction side to the pressure side by the movement of the rotor. The mixture to be transported is therefore conveyed in precisely dosed portions with low pulsation and irrespective of its consistency. The specific design of the pump is adapted to the specific application, explains Böhme: “The means that the materials for the housing, gaskets, stator and rotor are selected for the anticipated conditions, and the precise configurations of the parts are adjusted to match.”

The multiphase pumps can be operated reliably and at stable pressure even with a high water content and a gas content of up to 90% under this specification.

As a lot of gas was frequently present in the oil mixture in Central Asia, there was a danger that the sealing surfaces of the mechanical seal could occasionally run dry and break. To prevent that, the NETZSCH engineers installed a system with a quench supply. A 5-litre tank with rinsing fluid ensures that the sealing material is always lubricated, and prevents increased wear and tear. As any sealing lip attached externally would have been exposed to low minus temperatures without protection, a double-acting mechanical seal was used instead. This robust design increases the working life and reduces the need for maintenance – an important consideration in terms of operational reliability at the isolated location.

Operation at -40°C thanks to resistant materials and special heating

The temperature gradient in the middle of the Eurasian continental plate is particularly dramatic as a result of the inner-continental climate. In summer, temperatures are frequently +40°C, whereas the thermometer drops to -40°C in winter. Although the heat of the pumped medium is around 10°C to 30°C, the ambient air temperature is typically -20°C on site. In addition to the type and material of the gasket, the materials for the rotor, stator and other components of the pump from the motor to the gear box therefore also had to be selected and adapted specifically. “The system was also fitted with trace heating,” says Böhme. “The pump can then still be used without problems at a temperature low of -40°C.”

The NETZSCH multiphase pump has already been in service in the desert for about five years. The system has been conveying up to 160m³/h of oil-water-sand-gas mixture with a viscosity of between 100 and 1,000 cP without interruption at up to 36 bar pressure. The manufacturer also supplies systems for flow rates up to 600m³/h and pressure of up to 60 bar where higher volumes are required. The gear box and the motor have been fitted with an adjusting device to align the elastic coupling optimally. The advantage is that the operator can readjust the drive unit independently as necessary, thereby preventing damage to coupling bearings or to the gasket.