Page 102: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2016)

TECHNOLOGY: PUMPS

Economies of scale: the Omnirise ECM subsea boosting pump system.

Pump Battles (Illustration: courtesy FSubsea)

Subsea Notebook: communications, telemetry & underwater connections

Neither camp is alone in trying to meet oil com- nent magnet trademark called Hydromag, aims to

In one corner, call it Oslo, there’s military pany demands for seabed pump technology that dramatically simplify seabed boosting and aims and offshore marine pump maker, Fugle- increases oil recovery (IOR) or taps smaller reser- to cut costs by “tens of millions of dollars” per voirs while lopping off costs. In Norway’s pump project. The JIP in search of a cost-cutting pump sangs Subsea (Fsubsea), with technology battles, digital drives for those pumps can de? ne (FSubsea), motor (Voith) and controls (NEBB En- aimed directly at radical cost reduction whether there’s a great new market or the old one gineering) in one system has yielded the success- dominated by big players. ful trial of a lightweight cooling pump for Kongs- and compelling all players to take note.

In joint industry projects (JIPs) National Oilwell berg Subsea that cools single-phase ? uids (gas,

Varco (NOV) and German engineering ? rm Voith oil or water) about to travel from the seabed as

An ally of FSubsea (and of other pump

Subsea have been along for FSubsea’s subsea tri- export volumes or for re-injection in the reservoir makers) is NEBB engineering, an area als for seal-less, topsides-free pump systems for (see NOV’s trademark Seabox). It is understood drilling ? uids, water-injection and well stream that a MW of lift is provided by the pump shaft. A builder of variable-speed drives, or VSDs, called Omnirise (collectively). multi-phase version (gas, oil and water) is under and a dynamic controls and communica- “The aim was as little topsides control as pos- development.

sible,” said Alexander Fuglesang, chief exec of tions out? t with its own pool of reliable,

FSubsea. In 2013, the subsea business was spun FSubsea out of Fuglesangs Engineering which was “under The Omnirise is the “world’s ? rst seal-less sub- digitizing engineers in that most subsea of the radar making pumps for nuclear submarines sea process pump” and is smaller and more auton- all places — Macedonia. Acutely aware of the navy and offshore applications.” A U.S. inves- omous for having variable speed functionality in tor put 20 percent into the new entity. You reap the pump. Normally, an electric variable frequen- what this alliance brings is big rival Aker what you sow, and now trials have brought oil cy drive (VFD) on surface topsides or a separate

Solutions, with its own subsea control sys- company letters of intent and German interest in subsea housing do the controls job. A special cou- at least water pumps. pling system applies a hermetic pressure barrier tems and compressors.

Sensing what’s at stake, arm’s length Norwe- between the pump’s process and the motor’s cool- gian grant-giving bodies have also pitched in. ing ? uid. In comparison, the VFD is described

The Ominrise’s novel electrical centrifugal pump as part of a “pricy, complex” barrier-? uid pump

By William Stoichevski drive and coupling system, based on a perma- system which can weigh several hundred tons. 102 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • AUGUST 2016

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