US20120282116A1 - Subsea pumping system - Google Patents
Subsea pumping system Download PDFInfo
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- US20120282116A1 US20120282116A1 US13/504,931 US201013504931A US2012282116A1 US 20120282116 A1 US20120282116 A1 US 20120282116A1 US 201013504931 A US201013504931 A US 201013504931A US 2012282116 A1 US2012282116 A1 US 2012282116A1
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- Prior art keywords
- pump
- fluid
- pumping system
- valve
- subsea pumping
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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- 238000005086 pumping Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 19
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 76
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 16
- 229930195733 hydrocarbon Natural products 0.000 claims description 15
- 150000002430 hydrocarbons Chemical class 0.000 claims description 15
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 claims description 11
- 238000012163 sequencing technique Methods 0.000 claims description 7
- 239000004215 Carbon black (E152) Substances 0.000 claims description 5
- 238000002347 injection Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000007924 injection Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 230000001105 regulatory effect Effects 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- 230000001360 synchronised effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000012528 membrane Substances 0.000 abstract 1
- 239000012071 phase Substances 0.000 description 21
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 19
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 description 17
- 239000004576 sand Substances 0.000 description 15
- 239000000243 solution Substances 0.000 description 4
- 238000011144 upstream manufacturing Methods 0.000 description 4
- 230000004888 barrier function Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 3
- 239000002245 particle Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000002002 slurry Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000007791 liquid phase Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000003921 oil Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000010349 pulsation Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000000926 separation method Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000032258 transport Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000000576 coating method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000012809 cooling fluid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000005611 electricity Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000005284 excitation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000000605 extraction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000007792 gaseous phase Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000002156 mixing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000010355 oscillation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010926 purge Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005215 recombination Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000006798 recombination Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000011084 recovery Methods 0.000 description 1
- -1 that is Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000003643 water by type Substances 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
- E21B43/01—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells specially adapted for obtaining from underwater installations
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B41/00—Equipment or details not covered by groups E21B15/00 - E21B40/00
- E21B41/0007—Equipment or details not covered by groups E21B15/00 - E21B40/00 for underwater installations
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
- E21B43/34—Arrangements for separating materials produced by the well
- E21B43/36—Underwater separating arrangements
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
- F17D—PIPE-LINE SYSTEMS; PIPE-LINES
- F17D1/00—Pipe-line systems
- F17D1/08—Pipe-line systems for liquids or viscous products
- F17D1/14—Conveying liquids or viscous products by pumping
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a pumping system for use in a remote location such as a subsea hydrocarbon extraction facility, comprising a source for high pressure fluid and a fluid driven pump.
- subsea process plants with process boosting require more pumps in addition to a main booster.
- subsea pumps are large, heavy and complex units that also require electric power supply and barrier oil supply provided over a long distance.
- the electric system itself is highly complicated and costly, including for example penetrators, connectors, cable, transformers and motor control systems. If the host for electric power and barrier oil is a vessel or a platform, the pump supply systems will occupy highly valuable deck-area
- Hydrocarbons coming from wells can be divided into several types, having mainly gas with some water or oil, having mainly oil with some water. In some instances there may be three phases, gas, oil and water.
- the well stream is separated into separate phases in a separator.
- the water may preferably be injected back into the formation.
- the separated process medium at the later stages must be commingled with the separated process medium at first stage.
- the later stages separated process medium must be boosted to reach the pressure of the first stage separated process medium.
- One current solution for boosting the pressure of the later stage separated process medium is to use an ejector that uses another pressurized medium as motion fluid.
- the ejector solution has the disadvantages of low efficiency and mixing of motion fluid with the driven medium.
- the aim of the invention is to provide a simpler system that does not require dedicated supply of utilities (e.g. electric power and barrier fluid) from an external host, and hence will be more or less autonomous. It is also an aim of the invention to provide a system that is robust to sand and capable of pumping viscous sand slurries. This is achieved by using a subsea available pressurized fluid as a motive fluid for the pump, that the pump is a reciprocating pump and that it comprises means for creating pressure pulses in the motive fluid for operation of the pump.
- utilities e.g. electric power and barrier fluid
- the working principle of the autonomous pump invention is to bleed off some process fluid from a high pressure space to a low pressure space.
- a valve, or arrangement of valves hereafter named sequencing valve which working task is to transform a steady fluid pressure to a pulsating fluid pressure for excitation of a reciprocating or oscillating pump.
- the reciprocating pump is a piston type, diaphragm type or hose diaphragm type.
- diaphragm pumps and hose diaphragm pumps are robust to sand and particles.
- the means for providing the reciprocating driving fluid is a sequential valve, preferably a rotating valve or a shuttle valve. It can also be an arrangement of several valves. One sequencing valve (or valve arrangement) can be made to operate one single pump or multiple pumps.
- the sand is separated out in a de-sander and pumped using the reciprocating pump while the clean fluid is used as the motive fluid for the pump.
- the motive fluid is gas that is pressurized in a compressed and the compressed gas is used as the motive fluid to power the pump for the liquid phase.
- the hydrocarbons are mainly liquids.
- the hydrocarbons are separated into an oil phase and a water phase.
- the oil phase can then be used as the motive fluid to increase the pressure in the water line to enable reinjection of water into the formation.
- pressurized water for water injection can be used as motive fluid for increasing the oil pressure for transport to an oil-reception facility.
- FIG. 1 is a principal sketch of the invention
- FIG. 2 is a drawing of a first embodiment of the invention comprising a compressor
- FIG. 3 is a drawing of a second embodiment of the invention comprising a compressor
- FIG. 4 is a drawing of a first embodiment of the invention comprising a liquid pump
- FIG. 5 is a drawing of a third embodiment of the invention.
- FIGS. 6-8 are drawings of different embodiments of sequential valves.
- a pump 12 is connected to a pipeline 13 to receive a fluid to be pressurized, for instance hydrocarbon stream from one or more wells (not shown).
- the pump is a reciprocating pump preferably a hose diaphragm pump, a diaphragm pump or a piston pump.
- the pumped fluid is led to a pipeline 14 which transports the hydrocarbons to a receiving facility (not shown).
- Another pipeline 16 conveys a fluid of higher pressure than line 13 .
- the fluid is led through a sequential valve 17 which in turn is connected to the pump 12 and delivers pulsed fluid to be the motive fluid for the pump 12 .
- the high pressure fluid can be served from a remote facility.
- the high pressure fluid may be an injection fluid that is transported from a land based facility that pressurizes the fluid to a higher pressure than what is needed for the well and the excess energy/pressure is drawn from this fluid.
- FIG. 2 there is shown a first embodiment of a practical use of the invention where the fluids produced from one or several subsea wells are separated into a first and second fluid phase, where the first phase may be a gas and the second phase may be a liquid such a condensate, oil or water or combination of those.
- the hydrocarbons are transported through pipeline 20 to a separator 22 .
- the separator 22 the first phase is separated from the second phase and the first phase is led through pipeline 23 to a compressor 24 .
- the second phase is led through pipeline 30 to the reciprocating pump 32 .
- pump 32 the liquid is pressurized up and led into export pipeline 34 .
- the compressor outlet is connected to a pipeline 25 for the high pressure first phase.
- a pipeline 26 branches off pipeline 25 to carry some of the first phase through sequential valve 27 and then back to the inlet pipe 23 upstream compressor 24 .
- the light fluid could after sequential valve 27 be led back to pipeline 20 or separator 22 .
- the valve is arranged to set up an alternating high and low pressure pulse to drive the reciprocating pump.
- a reciprocating pump works by pulsing the pressure outside of a diaphragm or piston to set up the pumping action. This arrangement is not describes further as such pumps are well known in the art. Examples of sequential valves will be shown later with reference to FIGS. 6-8 .
- the first and second phases may be recombined downstream of the pump(s). In this case it is advantageous to pressurize the second phase to a higher pressure than the first phase, to facilitate recombination.
- FIG. 3 there is shown a second embodiment of the invention.
- the produced fluids from the well are three phase fluids, i.e. gas oil and water.
- the hydrocarbons stream is led through pipeline 20 to a first separator 22 that separates the fluids into a gaseous phase that is led to pipeline 23 and a liquid phase that is led through pipeline 30 .
- the gas is led through a compressor 24 and to the gas export pipeline 25 .
- a branch leads the high pressure gas through sequential valve 27 that sets up the pressure pulses for driving the reciprocating pump 32 .
- the liquids that are separated out in first separator 22 is led to a second separator 40 . This separates the oil from the water.
- the oil is led through pipeline 41 to reciprocating pump 32 which pressurizes up the oil and then through pipeline 42 and recombines the oil with the gas.
- the water is led through pipeline 44 to another pump 46 that pressurizes the water so that it can be injected into the formation.
- FIG. 4 there is shown yet another embodiment of the invention.
- the fluids produced by the well(s) are also a three phase fluid but may be a two phase fluid, that is, oil and water.
- hydrocarbons from the well are transported through pipeline 20 to a first separator 22 .
- This first separator 22 is only needed in the case where the well fluids contain gas.
- the gas is led through an export pipeline 52 to a remote facility.
- the liquids are led through pipeline 54 to a second separator 56 that separates the oil from water.
- the water is led through pipeline 58 to a pump 60 and then through pipeline 62 .
- the pipeline 62 can lead to an injection well or to another facility.
- the oil is led trough pipeline 64 to reciprocating pump 66 and then to export pipeline 68 .
- the gas and oil can be recombined downstream of the reciprocating pump.
- a pipe 70 branches off the pipeline 62 to convey pressurized fluid through sequential valve 27 and back through line 71 into pipeline 58 (the pump inlet). Similar to what is described earlier the high pressure fluids led through line 70 and sequential valve 27 sets up the pulses that make up the driving fluid for the reciprocating pump 66 .
- well fluids may contain particles such as sand.
- the sand can be very abrasive and it is normally not desirable to have sand in contact with rotary equipment, such as rotary pumps, since it can wear out the pump impellers and dynamic seals and bearings very quickly.
- Diaphragm pumps and hose diaphragm pumps are far more tolerant of particles since they do not have rotating parts, dynamic seals or bearings.
- FIG. 5 there is therefore shown an embodiment where a well stream contains sand.
- the well fluids are transported from the well in pipeline 20 to a de-sander 80 .
- the clean fluids are conveyed through pipeline 82 to pump 84 and to export pipeline 86 .
- the sand slurry is conveyed through line 90 to n reciprocating pump 92 .
- the pump 92 pressurizes the slurry to a pressure that is equal, or preferably a little higher, than in pipeline 86 and is recombined with the well fluids downstream of pump 84 .
- a line 87 branches off pipeline 86 downstream of the pump and, as in the previous embodiments, are led through sequential valve 27 and then through line 87 back into pipeline 82 upstream of the pump.
- the sequential valve 27 sets up the pressure pulses that drive the reciprocating pump 92 .
- FIGS. 6-8 show examples of a sequential valve that may be used in the invention.
- a high pressure line 101 with a first valve 102 .
- a low pressure line 103 with valve 104 .
- a line 105 leads to the reciprocating pump.
- the valves 102 and 104 are run in sequence corresponding with the pulsing of the reciprocating pump.
- the valves may be controlled electrically or hydraulically but ideally they are controlled by the fluid to create a fully autonomous system.
- the sequential valve is a rotating valve with its rotational axis parallel with the pipeline axis. As the valve rotates it will in sequence convey high pressure fluid through bore 106 to the reciprocating pump or exhaust spent fluid through bore 108 .
- the valve can be arranged with a fixed rotational speed that is synchronized with the oscillations of the pump or it can be mechanically linked to the pump.
- the sequential valve is a rotating valve with its rotational axis perpendicular to the pipeline axis.
- the valve has a rotating vane 110 that sequentially opens for high pressure fluid to the pump and exhausts the spent fluids.
- the vane can be rotated with an electric motor but preferably is controlled either by the pump or by the pressurized fluid to create an autonomous system.
- valves and valve-arrangements may be fit for purpose.
- the maximum discharge pressure is set by the process pressure supplied to autonomous pump drive in displacing sequence. This pressure can be increased by increasing main booster discharge pressure, e.g. by means of a restriction at main booster discharge, downstream the branch-off to autonomous pump drive.
- the pump charging sequence requires a positive differential pressure between pumped medium in pump chamber and pump drive medium.
- This differential pressure can be increased either by increasing suction pressure to autonomous pump (e.g. by increasing liquid column upstream pump), or by decreasing drive medium pressure.
- Pulsation pressure negative amplitude can also be increased by means of an ejector incorporated in the sequencing valve or sequencing valve arrangement.
- a charging sequence may be determined by the pressure on the pump inlet. If flow should be regulated, initially the frequency on the valve must be regulated. However there is a possibility to achieve a self-regulating pump for compressor applications as the liquid column in the separator would determine how much the pump will be filled during a “charging” sequence.
- the reciprocating pump can for example be used for in a circuit for supplying cooling fluid to a compressor. It can also be used to set up a high pressure stream to purge a separator of accumulated sand. Also, more than one pump can be installed in the system. In the case of having more than one pump it is preferable to control both pumps with one single sequential (rotating) valve.
Abstract
The invention concerns a subsea pumping system that comprises an reciprocating pump such as a membrane pump or a hose pump. The motive fluid for the pump is obtained from one of the well fluids which is pressurized in a separate stage.
Description
- The present invention relates to a pumping system for use in a remote location such as a subsea hydrocarbon extraction facility, comprising a source for high pressure fluid and a fluid driven pump.
- In many fields, the pressure of the hydrocarbon reservoir will decrease as the reservoir gets depleted. Therefore, to enable increased recovery of hydrocarbons, there has been an increased use of boosting equipment. One example of this are gas lift systems. Another is the so-called ESP's that is electrical submersible pumps that are suspended in a hydrocarbon well to boost the pressure and enable hydrocarbons to be lifted to surface. The drawback of such installations is that each well needs a pump with the associated power supply and control system. Another drawback is that only liquid pumps are feasible in this situation since compressors are more difficult to operate in wells.
- There is therefore an increased interest in locating the boosting equipment on the seabed and pump well fluids collected from several wells. This also enables the use of separators so that each phase of the well fluids (gas, oil or water) can be separated from each other and transported to different locations. For example can water be separated out from the well stream and reinjected into the ground, thus saving space and treatment equipment on the platform.
- Added to this is the fact that new fields are found in deeper waters and further from land. This requires long step out systems for power supply and control.
- Many subsea process plants with process boosting require more pumps in addition to a main booster. Traditionally, subsea pumps are large, heavy and complex units that also require electric power supply and barrier oil supply provided over a long distance. The electric system itself is highly complicated and costly, including for example penetrators, connectors, cable, transformers and motor control systems. If the host for electric power and barrier oil is a vessel or a platform, the pump supply systems will occupy highly valuable deck-area
- Hydrocarbons coming from wells can be divided into several types, having mainly gas with some water or oil, having mainly oil with some water. In some instances there may be three phases, gas, oil and water. The well stream is separated into separate phases in a separator. The water may preferably be injected back into the formation.
- In applications with several separation stages, the separated process medium at the later stages must be commingled with the separated process medium at first stage.
- Since the process medium looses pressure throughout the separation stages, the later stages separated process medium must be boosted to reach the pressure of the first stage separated process medium. One current solution for boosting the pressure of the later stage separated process medium is to use an ejector that uses another pressurized medium as motion fluid. However, the ejector solution has the disadvantages of low efficiency and mixing of motion fluid with the driven medium.
- Conventional centrifugal or screw pumps have a limited tolerance to sand. Current solution is either to let the sand go through the pump and use very high grade materials and coatings, or if the sand production is very high, the sand can be separated out upstream the pump and bypassed by means of an ejector. This ejector system is rather complex and require high flow of motion fluid.
- It is therefore a need for a different solution to boost a fluid subsea.
- The aim of the invention is to provide a simpler system that does not require dedicated supply of utilities (e.g. electric power and barrier fluid) from an external host, and hence will be more or less autonomous. It is also an aim of the invention to provide a system that is robust to sand and capable of pumping viscous sand slurries. This is achieved by using a subsea available pressurized fluid as a motive fluid for the pump, that the pump is a reciprocating pump and that it comprises means for creating pressure pulses in the motive fluid for operation of the pump.
- The working principle of the autonomous pump invention is to bleed off some process fluid from a high pressure space to a low pressure space. In the bleed-off line it shall be fitted a valve, or arrangement of valves (hereafter named sequencing valve) which working task is to transform a steady fluid pressure to a pulsating fluid pressure for excitation of a reciprocating or oscillating pump.
- Preferably the reciprocating pump is a piston type, diaphragm type or hose diaphragm type. Especially diaphragm pumps and hose diaphragm pumps are robust to sand and particles.
- The means for providing the reciprocating driving fluid is a sequential valve, preferably a rotating valve or a shuttle valve. It can also be an arrangement of several valves. One sequencing valve (or valve arrangement) can be made to operate one single pump or multiple pumps.
- In one embodiment of the invention where there is sand in the well fluids, the sand is separated out in a de-sander and pumped using the reciprocating pump while the clean fluid is used as the motive fluid for the pump.
- In one embodiment where the hydrocarbons are mainly gas, the motive fluid is gas that is pressurized in a compressed and the compressed gas is used as the motive fluid to power the pump for the liquid phase.
- In another embodiment the hydrocarbons are mainly liquids. The hydrocarbons are separated into an oil phase and a water phase. The oil phase can then be used as the motive fluid to increase the pressure in the water line to enable reinjection of water into the formation. Or vise versa, pressurized water for water injection can be used as motive fluid for increasing the oil pressure for transport to an oil-reception facility.
- The invention shall now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings where
-
FIG. 1 is a principal sketch of the invention, -
FIG. 2 is a drawing of a first embodiment of the invention comprising a compressor, -
FIG. 3 is a drawing of a second embodiment of the invention comprising a compressor, -
FIG. 4 is a drawing of a first embodiment of the invention comprising a liquid pump, -
FIG. 5 is a drawing of a third embodiment of the invention, -
FIGS. 6-8 are drawings of different embodiments of sequential valves. - Referring first to
FIG. 1 there is shown a sketch of the principle of the invention. Apump 12 is connected to apipeline 13 to receive a fluid to be pressurized, for instance hydrocarbon stream from one or more wells (not shown). The pump is a reciprocating pump preferably a hose diaphragm pump, a diaphragm pump or a piston pump. The pumped fluid is led to apipeline 14 which transports the hydrocarbons to a receiving facility (not shown). Anotherpipeline 16 conveys a fluid of higher pressure thanline 13. The fluid is led through asequential valve 17 which in turn is connected to thepump 12 and delivers pulsed fluid to be the motive fluid for thepump 12. - The high pressure fluid can be served from a remote facility. Reference can here be made to NO patent 323785 that describes a method for generating electricity in a subsea station. The high pressure fluid may be an injection fluid that is transported from a land based facility that pressurizes the fluid to a higher pressure than what is needed for the well and the excess energy/pressure is drawn from this fluid.
- In
FIG. 2 there is shown a first embodiment of a practical use of the invention where the fluids produced from one or several subsea wells are separated into a first and second fluid phase, where the first phase may be a gas and the second phase may be a liquid such a condensate, oil or water or combination of those. The hydrocarbons are transported throughpipeline 20 to aseparator 22. In theseparator 22 the first phase is separated from the second phase and the first phase is led throughpipeline 23 to acompressor 24. The second phase is led throughpipeline 30 to the reciprocatingpump 32. Inpump 32 the liquid is pressurized up and led intoexport pipeline 34. The compressor outlet is connected to apipeline 25 for the high pressure first phase. Apipeline 26 branches offpipeline 25 to carry some of the first phase throughsequential valve 27 and then back to theinlet pipe 23upstream compressor 24. Alternatively the light fluid could aftersequential valve 27 be led back topipeline 20 orseparator 22. The valve is arranged to set up an alternating high and low pressure pulse to drive the reciprocating pump. A reciprocating pump, works by pulsing the pressure outside of a diaphragm or piston to set up the pumping action. This arrangement is not describes further as such pumps are well known in the art. Examples of sequential valves will be shown later with reference toFIGS. 6-8 . - The first and second phases may be recombined downstream of the pump(s). In this case it is advantageous to pressurize the second phase to a higher pressure than the first phase, to facilitate recombination.
- In
FIG. 3 there is shown a second embodiment of the invention. In this case the produced fluids from the well are three phase fluids, i.e. gas oil and water. The hydrocarbons stream is led throughpipeline 20 to afirst separator 22 that separates the fluids into a gaseous phase that is led topipeline 23 and a liquid phase that is led throughpipeline 30. The gas is led through acompressor 24 and to thegas export pipeline 25. As inFIG. 2 a branch leads the high pressure gas throughsequential valve 27 that sets up the pressure pulses for driving thereciprocating pump 32. The liquids that are separated out infirst separator 22 is led to asecond separator 40. This separates the oil from the water. The oil is led throughpipeline 41 to reciprocatingpump 32 which pressurizes up the oil and then throughpipeline 42 and recombines the oil with the gas. The water is led throughpipeline 44 to anotherpump 46 that pressurizes the water so that it can be injected into the formation. - In
FIG. 4 there is shown yet another embodiment of the invention. In this case the fluids produced by the well(s) are also a three phase fluid but may be a two phase fluid, that is, oil and water. As in the other embodiments hydrocarbons from the well are transported throughpipeline 20 to afirst separator 22. Thisfirst separator 22 is only needed in the case where the well fluids contain gas. The gas is led through anexport pipeline 52 to a remote facility. The liquids are led throughpipeline 54 to asecond separator 56 that separates the oil from water. The water is led throughpipeline 58 to apump 60 and then throughpipeline 62. Thepipeline 62 can lead to an injection well or to another facility. The oil is ledtrough pipeline 64 to reciprocatingpump 66 and then to exportpipeline 68. In the case of there being gas in the well stream the gas and oil can be recombined downstream of the reciprocating pump. Apipe 70 branches off thepipeline 62 to convey pressurized fluid throughsequential valve 27 and back throughline 71 into pipeline 58 (the pump inlet). Similar to what is described earlier the high pressure fluids led throughline 70 andsequential valve 27 sets up the pulses that make up the driving fluid for thereciprocating pump 66. - At times well fluids may contain particles such as sand. The sand can be very abrasive and it is normally not desirable to have sand in contact with rotary equipment, such as rotary pumps, since it can wear out the pump impellers and dynamic seals and bearings very quickly. Diaphragm pumps and hose diaphragm pumps are far more tolerant of particles since they do not have rotating parts, dynamic seals or bearings. In
FIG. 5 there is therefore shown an embodiment where a well stream contains sand. The well fluids are transported from the well inpipeline 20 to a de-sander 80. The clean fluids are conveyed throughpipeline 82 to pump 84 and to exportpipeline 86. The sand slurry is conveyed throughline 90 ton reciprocating pump 92. Thepump 92 pressurizes the slurry to a pressure that is equal, or preferably a little higher, than inpipeline 86 and is recombined with the well fluids downstream ofpump 84. Aline 87 branches offpipeline 86 downstream of the pump and, as in the previous embodiments, are led throughsequential valve 27 and then throughline 87 back intopipeline 82 upstream of the pump. Thesequential valve 27 sets up the pressure pulses that drive the reciprocatingpump 92. -
FIGS. 6-8 show examples of a sequential valve that may be used in the invention. InFIG. 6 there is shown ahigh pressure line 101 with afirst valve 102. After that there is alow pressure line 103 withvalve 104. Between thevalves 102 and 104 aline 105 leads to the reciprocating pump. Thevalves - In
FIG. 7 the sequential valve is a rotating valve with its rotational axis parallel with the pipeline axis. As the valve rotates it will in sequence convey high pressure fluid throughbore 106 to the reciprocating pump or exhaust spent fluid throughbore 108. The valve can be arranged with a fixed rotational speed that is synchronized with the oscillations of the pump or it can be mechanically linked to the pump. - In
FIG. 8 the sequential valve is a rotating valve with its rotational axis perpendicular to the pipeline axis. The valve has arotating vane 110 that sequentially opens for high pressure fluid to the pump and exhausts the spent fluids. The vane can be rotated with an electric motor but preferably is controlled either by the pump or by the pressurized fluid to create an autonomous system. - Another kind of valve that may be used is the kind called a shuttle valve. Also other types of valves and valve-arrangements may be fit for purpose.
- To achieve a fully functional system there must be a set pressure differential between the pump strokes. The maximum discharge pressure is set by the process pressure supplied to autonomous pump drive in displacing sequence. This pressure can be increased by increasing main booster discharge pressure, e.g. by means of a restriction at main booster discharge, downstream the branch-off to autonomous pump drive.
- The pump charging sequence requires a positive differential pressure between pumped medium in pump chamber and pump drive medium. This differential pressure can be increased either by increasing suction pressure to autonomous pump (e.g. by increasing liquid column upstream pump), or by decreasing drive medium pressure.
- One method of achieving this is to increase pulsation pressure negative amplitude by creating low pressure discharge by means of a venturi arrangement. Pulsation pressure negative amplitude can also be increased by means of an ejector incorporated in the sequencing valve or sequencing valve arrangement.
- By adjusting the restriction it will be possible to maintain the correct pressure differential between the high pressure and the low pressure. This pressure differential can therefore be used to control the sequential valve. By adjusting the restriction the system will be able to handle changes in the composition of the well fluids.
- A charging sequence may be determined by the pressure on the pump inlet. If flow should be regulated, initially the frequency on the valve must be regulated. However there is a possibility to achieve a self-regulating pump for compressor applications as the liquid column in the separator would determine how much the pump will be filled during a “charging” sequence.
- The invention has been described with reference to some embodiments. A person skilled in the art will realize that there are several other ways of utilizing the invention. The reciprocating pump can for example be used for in a circuit for supplying cooling fluid to a compressor. It can also be used to set up a high pressure stream to purge a separator of accumulated sand. Also, more than one pump can be installed in the system. In the case of having more than one pump it is preferable to control both pumps with one single sequential (rotating) valve.
Claims (16)
1. A subsea pumping system for use in a remote location such as a subsea hydrocarbon production facility, the subsea pumping system comprising:
a source of high pressure fluid; and
a fluid driven reciprocating pump;
wherein the high pressure fluid is used as a motive fluid for the pump; and
means for creating pressure pulses in the motive fluid.
2. The subsea pumping system according to claim 1 , wherein the source of high pressure fluid is produced gas pressurized by a compressor.
3. The subsea pumping system according to claim 1 , wherein the source of high pressure fluid is produced liquids pressurized by a liquid pump.
4. The subsea pumping system according to claim 1 , wherein the source of high pressure fluid is an injection fluid provided by a pump located at a topside facility.
5. The subsea pumping system according to claim 1 , wherein the reciprocating pump is a diaphragm pump.
6. The subsea pumping system according to claim 1 , wherein the reciprocating pump is a hose diaphragm pump.
7. The subsea pumping system according to claim 1 , wherein the reciprocating pump is a piston pump.
8. The subsea pumping system according to claim 1 , wherein the means for creating pressure pulses comprises at least one valve arranged between the source of high pressure fluid and the pump.
9. The subsea pumping system according to claim 8 , the means for creating pressure pulses comprises an inlet valve and an outlet valve which are synchronized to provide the pulses.
10. The subsea pumping system according to claim 8 , wherein the means for creating pressure pulses comprises a rotating sequencing valve.
11. The subsea pumping system according to claim 10 , wherein the rotating sequencing valve has a rotational axis which is parallel to a pipeline axis for a pipeline in which the valve is arranged.
12. The subsea pumping system according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one separator.
13. A method for operating a subsea reciprocating pump, the method comprising the steps of:
separating out a first fluid phase from a well stream comprising a plurality of phases;
increasing the pressure of said first fluid phase; and
using a portion of the pressurized first fluid phase as a motive fluid for the reciprocating pump.
14. The method according to claim 13 wherein the pressurized first fluid phase is fed to the reciprocating pump through a sequential valve.
15. The method according to claim 13 , further comprising the step of the regulating a pressure differential in the first fluid phase.
16. The subsea pumping system according to claim 10 , wherein the rotating sequencing valve has a rotational axis which is transverse to a pipeline axis for a pipeline in which the valve is arranged.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
NO20093258A NO20093258A1 (en) | 2009-10-30 | 2009-10-30 | Underwater Pump System |
NO20093258 | 2009-10-30 | ||
PCT/EP2010/066477 WO2011051453A2 (en) | 2009-10-30 | 2010-10-29 | Subsea pumping system |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US20120282116A1 true US20120282116A1 (en) | 2012-11-08 |
Family
ID=43855960
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US13/504,931 Abandoned US20120282116A1 (en) | 2009-10-30 | 2010-10-29 | Subsea pumping system |
Country Status (8)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US20120282116A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP2494144B1 (en) |
AU (1) | AU2010311379B2 (en) |
BR (1) | BR112012009946B1 (en) |
DK (1) | DK2494144T3 (en) |
NO (1) | NO20093258A1 (en) |
RU (1) | RU2571466C2 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2011051453A2 (en) |
Cited By (2)
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WO2014172324A1 (en) * | 2013-04-16 | 2014-10-23 | Framo Engineering As | An oil filtration system for subsea oil-filled machines |
US20180156224A1 (en) * | 2016-12-01 | 2018-06-07 | Mohan G. Kulkarni | Subsea Produced Non-Sales Fluid Handling System and Method |
Families Citing this family (8)
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GB2500873A (en) * | 2012-03-22 | 2013-10-09 | Corac Energy Technologies Ltd | Pipeline compression system |
US9175528B2 (en) | 2013-03-15 | 2015-11-03 | Hydril USA Distribution LLC | Decompression to fill pressure |
US20140262305A1 (en) * | 2013-03-15 | 2014-09-18 | Hydril Usa Manufacturing Llc | Control valve timing |
US9534458B2 (en) | 2013-03-15 | 2017-01-03 | Hydril USA Distribution LLC | Hydraulic cushion |
GB2561568A (en) | 2017-04-18 | 2018-10-24 | Subsea 7 Norway As | Subsea processing of crude oil |
GB2561570B (en) | 2017-04-18 | 2020-09-09 | Subsea 7 Norway As | Subsea processing of crude oil |
GB2573121B (en) | 2018-04-24 | 2020-09-30 | Subsea 7 Norway As | Injecting fluid into a hydrocarbon production line or processing system |
NO20200357A1 (en) | 2020-03-26 | 2021-09-27 | Fmc Kongsberg Subsea As | Method and subsea system for phased installation of compressor trains |
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- 2010-10-29 AU AU2010311379A patent/AU2010311379B2/en active Active
- 2010-10-29 WO PCT/EP2010/066477 patent/WO2011051453A2/en active Application Filing
- 2010-10-29 US US13/504,931 patent/US20120282116A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2010-10-29 EP EP10771147.5A patent/EP2494144B1/en active Active
- 2010-10-29 RU RU2012121263/03A patent/RU2571466C2/en active
- 2010-10-29 DK DK10771147.5T patent/DK2494144T3/en active
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US10539141B2 (en) * | 2016-12-01 | 2020-01-21 | Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company | Subsea produced non-sales fluid handling system and method |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
AU2010311379A1 (en) | 2012-05-17 |
RU2012121263A (en) | 2013-12-10 |
BR112012009946A2 (en) | 2016-03-08 |
EP2494144A2 (en) | 2012-09-05 |
DK2494144T3 (en) | 2017-01-30 |
NO20093258A1 (en) | 2011-05-02 |
AU2010311379B2 (en) | 2016-04-14 |
RU2571466C2 (en) | 2015-12-20 |
WO2011051453A2 (en) | 2011-05-05 |
EP2494144B1 (en) | 2016-10-19 |
BR112012009946B1 (en) | 2020-12-08 |
WO2011051453A3 (en) | 2011-10-13 |
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Owner name: FMC KONGSBERG SUBSEA AS, NORWAY Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:TONNESSEN, LEIF ARNE;REEL/FRAME:028545/0603 Effective date: 20120628 |
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