Advantages.
Unique Characteristics and Special Possibilities

    General Versus Other Types of Artificial Lift.

  1. The FlaPump pump is based on the sucker rod pump, which is the dominating artificial lift method, and also the one that increases its market share. 85% of all wells on artificial lift are rod pumped, 10% are on gas lift and 4% are fitted with ESP. 92 % of all new artificial lift installations are sucker rod well pumps.
  2. Higher efficiency lowers the economic limit so that recovery increases. Considering that 85% of all oil wells need artificial lift FlaPump will have a significant impact on total recovery worldwide.
  3. Ideal in deviated and horizontal oil wells.
  4. A large capacity of 0-10,000 bpd made possible by several cylinders working in parallel. 10.000 bpd represents a gross profit of $550.000 every day ($44/barrel).
  5. Can pump oil with high and low viscosity.
  6. Ideal for dewatering of gas wells. Easier to reduce the growth of hydrate and scale.
  7. All moving parts are free rotating, a feature that minimizes wear.
  8. Ideal for satellite wells offshore and onshore.
  9. Ideal for delivery of individual well streams to a common manifold.
  10. Is more easily sized for optimum pressure and flow than any other artificial lift method.
  11. The surface equipment is suited for any environment worldwide.
  12. FlaPump can cope with any well temperature.
  13. All surface equipment is available as standard equipment from major suppliers of hydraulic equipment.
  14. Very tolerant towards pressure increase caused by waxing, water cut, etc.
  15. Easy flow rate controls by adjusting the hydraulic flow from the surface.
  16. Simple instrumentation for unattended operation.
  17. The hydraulic pressure can measure pumping pressure.
  18. Standard hydraulic pumps and standard hydraulic oil guarantees many years of operation with insignificant wear.
  19. The FlaPump well pump will be delivered with oil lubricated seals where lubrication is arranged from the hydraulic oil circuit to give very long lifetime.
  20. Ideal for "huff and puff" wells with steam injection. (Valve lift with reversed oil pressure)
  21. Much easier to calculate and design than other types of artificial lift.
  22. Little noise. (It is easy to suppress hydraulic noise from the surface facilities.)
  23. Simple, robust and covers a wide range of producing conditions.
  24. The well fluid can easily flow through the pump when lowering it into the well.
  25. Closed circuit hydraulic system requires standard oil filters, only.
  26. The material selection for FlaPump can be based on more than 100 years of rod pump operating experience.
  27. FlaPump produces a variable pump head from 0 to 400 bars. This is a unique feature.
  28. The FlaPump hydraulic system operates in a closed loop. It is thereby possible to operate at high pressures; small oil volumes and small bore tubing.
  29. Low price.

    30. Versus Sucker Rod Pumps.

  30. Can be used for much deeper wells.
  31. Can be used in highly deviated wells and in horizontal well sections.
  32. No large mechanical surface installations.
  33. No sucker rods and associated limitations/problems.
  34. FlaPump can be designed with 2-8 double acting cylinders eliminating pulsations on both sides of the pump.
  35. No sucker rods subject to wear and fatigue.
  36. Compact surface installation reduces problems with farming and other use of the land.
  37. No sucker rod stuffing box and therefore no leaks of well fluids to the surface.
  38. Makes it possible to use minimized closed separation equipment instead of open as for sucker rod pumps.
  39. No oscillations or "spring effects" from sucker rod.
  40. Much higher capacity.
  41. Not subject to rod or gear failures that make up more than half of rod pump failures.
  42. No rotating or swinging mass.
  43. Low weight surface installation.
  44. Ideal for deviated wells.
  45. Can deliver direct to the separator pressure.
  46. Very small void room in pump gives higher efficiency at high gas/oil ratios.
  47. No acceleration of large masses for every pump stroke.
  48. Sand can easily pass through the pump with the oil.
  49. Does not require a gear transmission for correct speed. This is handled by the variable hydraulic pump.
  50. No danger of rod sticking caused by sand or scaling.
  51. No risk of gas locking.
  52. FlaPump is not damaged by pump-off. It can actually be designed to automatically adjust itself after a pump-off.
  53. Much less exposed for pump off because it sucks smoothly all the time. Not only on the upcoming movement.

    54. Versus ESP and Gas Lift.

  54. Easy flows regulation from 0 to 100% capacity.
  55. Pump rate is easily controlled and optimised to match the well's performance.
  56. Sand production does not cause erosion.
  57. Can easily stand water in oil. Does not emulsify oil and water.
  58. Pump rate and pressure can easily be adjusted to suit changing well performance in the long run.
  59. Lower operating costs extend production life of well.
  60. Simpler operating principle makes it easy to understand for operating personnel.

    61. Versus ESP.

  61. Easy trouble shooting.
  62. Direct drive from combustion engine or from electric supply is easier than transformation of electric power.
  63. Tolerates high sand production and large sand grain.
  64. FlaPump can be installed in highly deviated wells and in horizontal sections with no negative effects.
  65. Much better suited for rental of the same pump to more than one application.
  66. Stocking of spare units is easy as the pump and wear parts are identical for the same dimension well bore.
  67. Ideal for use where well data are uncertain. This also makes it easy to plan at an early stage and makes FlaPump ideal for test production.
  68. Easy to instrument.
  69. FlaPump does not suffer from cavitations or unbalance caused by gas.
  70. Low piston speed and flow velocity. Maximum 1 m/sec versus 30-50m/sec impeller speeds for ESP.
  71. Much easier to get approval for use in oil wells because of lack of danger for explosion and electric shocks.
  72. No routine EX fitness test or annual test.
  73. Little wears and longer service life between overhauls.
  74. Short down hole assembly. Overall length of a 10,000 bpd FlaPump pump with motor is approximately 12 meters compared to 30 meters for an ESP unit.
  75. Easy overhaul. Does not require full speed test for vibration control.
  76. Without any electrics there are no ignition sources associated with the FlaPump installation.
  77. Vibration is not a problem.
  78. Overheating is not a problem, even if reservoirs temperatures exceed 120 °C.
  79. No risk of leaks in electrical motor seals in deviated wells. ESP have problems when they are not vertical.
  80. Mechanical weak plastic electric cable insulation materials at high temperatures are not a problem. This weakness is extra large for ESP when the reservoir temperatures exceed 120 °C.
  81. Mechanical strength of pure copper cables required for low electric resistant is not a problem.
  82. No problem with over harmonics in long electric cables.
  83. No problems with electric reaction currents.
  84. FlaPump contains no radial bearings susceptible to sand.
  85. No risks of short-circuit in down hole cables and motors.
  86. No requirement for filters upstream a FlaPump pump.
  87. There is no problem with high start currents and small temperature margins for electric motor insulation materials.
  88. Simple tubing hanger design.
  89. No complex dynamics at start/stop. An ESP must go through critical speed.
  90. No induction currents.
  91. The FlaPump hydraulic motor is protected against contamination by the higher hydraulic oil pressure.
  92. Small diameter motor enables crude oil to pass the motor.
  93. The high efficiency FlaPump installation requires less energy transferred down hole.
  94. Higher efficiency means that a smaller size motor can be used. (Where ESP requires a 100 hp motor, FlaPump requires a 50 hp motor.)
  95. The hydraulic motor requires less space than an electric motor. For the same output the volume of an electric motor is 25 times that of a hydraulic motor.
  96. No cooling problems, even over 120 °C.
  97. It is easy to design FlaPump for H2S service. When ESP is used this can cause motor breakdown. H2S will draw through the elastomers.
  98. With FlaPump there are no large start currents.
  99. With FlaPump the flow can be increased gradually from 0. Therefore no need for an oversized power supply as would be required for ESP.
  100. No complicated transistor equipment for control of electric power supply.
  101. No problem with rpm variations.
  102. No special cables requiring full replacement if damaged.
  103. No cables subject to high external pressure. Oil filled pipes are in balance with the ressure height in the well.
  104. FlaPump takes the full pump pressure in one step, not over many stages.
  105. No problems with water. Conductive salt water etc.
  106. Requires no vibration monitoring.
  107. Requires no internal monitoring of motor temperature and pressure.
  108. Can pump virtually any viscosity and is much more flexible than centrifugal pumps.
  109. Longer service life than ESP between overhauls.
  110. FlaPump does not overheat even if run with gas, only. The hydraulic oil takes away the heat.
  111. FlaPump suffers no damage if run on gas, only. (An ESP cannot be run dry).
  112. No risk of radial stability caused by sand erosion.
  113. Minimum risk of an instant total failure causing production shut down.
  114. Very low friction losses through the pump.
  115. FlaPump is made up from parts with very simple geometry.
  116. There are no bearings requiring lubrication.
  117. No need for oversized generators, switches and relays for start and operation of the electric down hole motor.
  118. External scale build-up cannot harm the motor, as it does not depend upon external cooling.
  119. No danger of intrusion by harmful liquids through worn seals.
  120. Simple start-up.
  121. There are few areas where sand can enter into crevices and cause wear.
  122. There are no weak isolated cables passing the wellhead. A particular problem for ESP's at high temperatures.
  123. FlaPump does not require electric cables or electric connectors for subsea wells.
  124. Ideal design for small diameter well bores. For ESP the motor and the pump loose power with decreasing diameter.
  125. The simple geometry allows extensive use of wear resistant materials such as stellite, ceramics etc.
  126. Overhaul is fast and cheap.
  127. Can easily be re-sold for use on another application, as it is not tailor made.
  128. Sizing for a particular well is very easy.
  129. FlaPump is mass-produced by numerically controlled machining and thereby made up by inexpensive high precision parts.
  130. FlaPump is easy to operate. (ESP reportedly requires "excellent operator practices".)
  131. Requires smaller service rigs, as the overall assembly height is only half of an ESP assembly.
  132. Can start against a high backpressure for instance caused by sand settling or viscosity build-up caused by cooling.
  133. No problems with self induced high voltages, which may damage an ESP the motor when pulling the assembly.
  134. No problem with cable capacitance.
  135. FlaPump can start at any time whereas an ESP must stand still because of self induced voltages.
  136. Low weight and short assembly length makes it easy to handle and transport.
  137. Easy to test during operation.
  138. Easy to transport to the field due to short length and robust design.
  139. Is not subject to reaction rotating forces during start up and will attempt to rotate.
  140. Change out inexpensive wear part and the pump will be as good as new.

    141. Versus Gas Lift.

  141. The piston pump is far more efficient than gas lift. Approx. 90% compared to 5-15% for gas lift.
  142. Does not require controlled distribution of lift gas between the wells.
  143. Large and expensive compressors are not required. In the North Sea the gas must be compressed to 370-400 bars with 240 bars well pressure because of lack of liquid well pressure.
  144. There is no special need in system demand and facility when starting the well.
  145. No need for supply and cleaning (cleaning equipment) of gas.
  146. Requires minimum supply of energy over the whole lifetime of the field.
  147. The process plant can be designed for the natural gas flow from the field, only, and can therefore be made smaller and cheaper.
  148. Standard pumps may be used for a large number of wells because of the large flexibility of the reciprocating pump.
  149. No erosion, which may be caused by the high fluid velocities and sand particles accelerated by gas lift.
  150. No cavitations, which may be caused by the high fluid velocities, created by gas lift.
  151. No expensive or problematic lift gas types.
  152. Very good economy for deep wells where gas lifts performance is poor.