Celeros Flow Technology has injected new life right into a heritage pump for a Canadian heavy oil restoration buyer, enabling them to increase production. The pump – a Mather & Platt BB5 – was more than forty years outdated and had been topic to numerous post-installation alterations.
Heavy oil deposits are extraordinarily viscous and require the injection of excessive stress, excessive temperature steam to enhance fluidity and permit the oil to be pumped to the surface. In order to boost extraction on this project, the customer needed to increase water temperatures from 90° C to 140° C. However, there were considerations that the existing pump might not be ready to deliver this requirement. Nozzle loads were a particular concern. They turned to Celeros Flow Technology brand ClydeUnion Pumps, their most popular provider of some 20 years, for help.
Mather & Platt is considered one of a number of heritage pump manufacturers for which Celeros Flow Technology offers full lifecycle support1. Their aftermarket engineering staff undertook a thorough 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 effectivity. There had additionally been no upkeep interventions for many years – but 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 unique pump that it had continued to operate in such harsh situations and with no common upkeep over such a long time frame. More importantly, it gave us confidence that a thorough overhaul could achieve the desired improvement in performance, saving the client the cost and lost production time that can be associated with sourcing and putting in 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 component analysis was undertaken to confirm that the nozzle masses would stand up to the specified temperature increase. As a outcome, the pump is now able to delivering steam on the higher temperatures required. The seal upgrades ensure it meets the latest specs.
Concludes Mike Golds: “We are really happy with the result of the SAGD pump upgrade. It has not only achieved the specified manufacturing increase for the client, but also provided a more sustainable and cost-effective solution than total pump alternative. Using Economical and evaluation, we now have been in a position to give the present pump a brand new lease of life and guarantee it’ll proceed to perform well for many extra years.”
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