Wellsite Pump Hot Swapping for Continuous High-Pressure Pumping
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the oil and gas industry, maintaining high-pressure pumps at well sites is challenging due to frequent downtime requirements, which increases operational costs and reduces hydrocarbon extraction efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A method for hot swapping pumps at well sites, allowing continuous operation by isolating, bleeding, disconnecting, swapping, and reconnecting pumps using a pump swap tool and automated systems, minimizing maintenance downtime.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional pump maintenance procedures are used, then pump reliability is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to system shutdown requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The pump system is segmented into modular components with individual isolation valves for each pump. This allows one pump to be isolated and maintained while other pumps continue operating, enabling maintenance without complete system shutdown and thus maintaining productivity while ensuring pump reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Isolation valves act as intermediaries between pumps and the piping system. These valves enable the decoupling of maintenance activities from operational requirements by allowing selective isolation of individual pumps while maintaining system pressure and flow through other pumps.
2Reliability
If pump maintenance is performed frequently, then reliability is improved, but loss of time increases due to maintenance windows
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous pumping operations by having multiple pumps that can operate in parallel. When one pump requires maintenance, another pump continues the useful action of fluid transport, eliminating downtime and ensuring continuous production while maintaining pump reliability through regular maintenance of individual units.
Solution Approach 2:
Pumps are maintained proactively before failures occur, and the modular isolation system is prepared in advance to enable quick swap operations. This preliminary preparation of isolation mechanisms and standby pumps minimizes the time loss during maintenance transitions.
3Ease of repair
If pumps are isolated for maintenance, then ease of repair is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to operational shutdown
Solution Approach 1:
The pumping system is divided into independently isolable segments with individual valves for each pump. This segmentation allows maintenance personnel to access and repair a specific pump without affecting the entire system, improving ease of repair while other pumps maintain productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The isolation system provides dynamic control over pump operation status. Pumps can be quickly isolated or reconnected based on maintenance needs, allowing flexible adjustment between repair mode and operational mode without permanent system shutdown, thus maintaining overall productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure presents systems and methods for hot swapping pumps at a wellsite while minimizing the impact to the pumping operations. As one pump is swapped out, such as for maintenance, the remaining pumps in the set of pumps at the wellsite can continue pumping operations. In some aspects, the swapping of pumps can be performed by a user using a protection barrier to isolate the pump location where the pumps will be swapped. In some aspects, one or more of the steps to swap pumps can be performed through automation thereby minimizing danger to a user. In some aspects, the pump being located at the pump system can be primed and pressure tested prior to be located to improve the time to enable the pump for pumping operations.