CASE STUDY: PUMPS, VALVES & HYDRAULICS
Much analysis has been performed on the current capacity of gas plants, pipelines, terminals in the Permian region, and many companies have announced expansions and new-build plants, pipelines to accommodate the increased production and transport it to awaiting markets. The main markets for Permian products are located in the Gulf Coast area and those accessible from the major Cushing (OK) terminal hubs.
Thus, some of the questions that need to be answered in the short term are how much additional production will the Permian generate, where will it occur (geographically) and how quickly will it come online. Some analysts have projected as much as 1MM BPD additional production in the Permian by the end of 2017 with as few as 300 rigs working. With the current rig count of ~370 rigs in the Permian, this 1MM BPD increase estimate might easily be exceeded. Crude oil pipeline capacity necessary to transport Permian crude to Gulf Coast markets appears to be sufficient, but quickly filling up.
Gas Plants will also need constructing, particularly in the fringe areas where few plants currently exist today and drilling is occurring. So, not only will the additional crude production lead to more infrastructure development, but the additional associated gas production and gas plant construction will also lead to new gas transmission and products pipeline construction to transport these products to markets.
Major Oil Pipeline companies want to balance risk and reward, but to be successful in the many market areas, including the Permian, often times require them to be “first into the market” and secure the producers’ production commitment. One tool they use is announcing “Open Seasons” for their proposed pipelines; which provides interest and commitment levels from producers looking for a conveyance of their crude. Depending upon the response to the open season, they may or may not lead to the building of the pipeline. However, we’ve seen several pipeline companies proceed with pipeline FId’s and construction even though it appears the producers’ commitments don’t meet the pipeline company’s requirements. In some of these cases, we see the pipeline operator installing the pipe in the ground, and lowering their investment by strategically building out the pump stations in a staged manner, to reduce investment and build capacity as production ramps up.
We were recently asked to provide an RFQ to a major pipeline company for an upcoming pipeline from the Permian to the Gulf Coast. The following case study discusses the some of the pertinent factors that we provided to customer on such a project.
Case Study
When it comes to designing and selecting pipeline pumps for both booster and mainline applications, many factors come into play. Subtle overlooks in the pump selections can, and do create costly capital expense increases for major transport companies, while non- ideal operation can also hinder the operational expense of a pipeline. It has been integrated into SPx FLOW’s common practice to evaluate each of these factors when sizing and selecting pumps for any pipeline application.
SPX FLOW was asked to evaluate a new pipeline project that would run from the Permian to the Gulf Coast. Due to the uncertainty of the overall operation of the pipeline, a number of moving targets needed to be evaluated. Pumps operating in series vs. parallel, initial build vs. full build, overall station pressures, pump specific speed, best efficiency point, and overall power consumption were all factors that SPx FLOW’s hydraulic specialists were able to evaluate while sizing and selecting the best pumps. With a range of flows of up to 50% between an initial build and full build, a creative solution would be required. SPX FLOW was able to generate 3 options that would be used to evaluate the balance of operational expense and capital expense for the project.
Option one consisted of 17 pumps. Six for the initial build all the same size, and 11 in the full build. Two pump sizes would be required along with a change of rotors and would require a moderate amount of change at each station
between the initial and full build. While a good operational expense solution, this option could prove to end with surplus pumps that would not be required in the full build.
Option two consisted of 19 pump. 10 for the initial build and nine in the full build all the same size. While there was a considerable advantage to having all of the pumps the same, due to the swing in design conditions not all pumps would operate as close to best efficiency point as we would like reducing the overall operational efficiency of the machines. This was a good solution but would require a higher capital expense and operational expense than expected by the client.
Option three consisted of 16 pumps. Eight for the initial build split between two sizes, and eight in the full build. For this option pumps would not have to relocate for each station between initial and full builds. No rotor changes between low flow and high flow would be required. This option also would provide the best operation in relation to the pumps best efficiency point and the lowest power consumption for each station. The end result for option three would use two pump sizes and optimize the reduction in capital expense and operational expense for the entire pipeline.
No two pipelines are the same. Which is why at SPx FLOW special care is taken to size and select the right pumps for any pipeline application around the world. Two different size CuP-BB1 pumps were ultimately provided for this pipeline and SPXFLOW has continued to meet our commitments in delivering the first 2 phases of this pipeline.
Top left image: BB1T 2-pole, 2-stage pump package operating in the field. Bottom image: BB1 1-stage, 4-pole pump packaged and ready for shipment to site.
www.spxflow.com July 2017 |
www.sosmagazine.biz | p31
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