Pumps play a vital role in many industries worldwide.
But inefficient pump operation can lead to costly failures and increased energy consumption, leading to significant financial and operational losses. For such situations, Oceaneering’s Maintenance and Reliability Solutions team provides operational reliability services on a consultancy basis or where our engineers are embedded into the client’s core operations, helping them maximize asset availability.
In 2023, Oceaneering helped a UK-based upstream oil and gas operator in monitoring pump performance, aiming to understand operating ranges, identify corrective actions, and mitigate risks to operations.
Understanding Performance Curves: The pump’s performance curve illustrates the relationship between the flow rate and the pressure. Operating a pump away from the optimal region can result in mechanical stress, vibration, and increased energy consumption. By periodically monitoring pump operating conditions operators can ensure efficient performance and an extended lifespan.
With large costs associated with production losses, the client understood the importance of understanding the risks associated with maintaining system function and maximizing pump reliability. As a result, a set of production critical pumps was selected for review.
Historical process data was cleansed and analyzed to determine the various pump operating conditions over time in relation to variable liquid flow.
A simple overlay of this data onto the manufacturer’s pump performance curve was used to assess the operating conditions for the selected pumps and revealed deviations.
For instance, it was clear that one pump had previously operated for extended periods outside the API recommended operating range and had experienced low-flow conditions, as shown in the red-highlighted area in the graphic below.
Low flow can lead to issues such as excessive vibration, bearing wear, and mechanical seal failure. Further investigation revealed that one year previously a seized minimum flow valve had rendered the minimum flow function for the pump inoperable. Had proactive monitoring been in place at that point, the low-flow condition could have been detected, avoiding a production impact and a costly overhaul.
The review did not just identify performance issues. In another example, the two largest pumps on the facility were for water injection, operating in the seven-to-ten-megawatt range. The review confirmed that these high-ticket items were being operated within the manufacturer’s recommended range. This gave positive assurance to the business, providing a measure of confidence that critical machinery was likely to provide continued reliable service.
As an important review outcome, several pumps were identified as suitable for mid-life modification projects, promising returns on investment typically within 2-4 years. Based on projected reductions in failures, reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions, the net financial benefit over the remaining asset life is estimated to be up to 385M USD.
Adopting a proactive approach to pump analysis offers organizations the potential of significant operational and financial benefits.
Timely analysis can help optimize pump performance, enhance uptime by prolonging asset lifespan, whilst reducing costs by avoiding costly failures and unnecessary energy consumption. This is a major move away from the fail-fix-fail-fix reactive maintenance cycle.
Whether through a one-off project or embedded within an operations team, Oceaneering’s operational reliability services can be tailored to meet organizational needs, offering innovative solutions to improve operational efficiency and reliability across a wide range of plant types.
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