PAGES 72 // 73

Abstract
The multiphase pump technology is considered
to be a Young Technology. However it is
already mentioned in the Oil & Gas literature in
1957. After these initial steps with frequent
pump-failures due to unsolvable tasks
Bornemann gave up and the vision of handling
liquid- and gas- mixtures disappeared in the
companies strategy for nearly 30 years.
The restart of the multiphase boosting
technology finally leading to technical success
and implementation of this technology in the
E&P industry was initiated in the late 80-ies of
the last century with the important Poseidon
Project conducted by Statoil and Total. Several
national and international research projects
followed. This paper summarizes the
Bornemann R&D path achieved during in these
research projects during the last two decades.
1. Poseidon Project
The starting point of the commercial
development of multiphase boosting certainly
was the Poseidon project in 1985. One of the
main reasons for this development was the
huge investment involved in offshore
structures. If it would be possible to boost the
total well production right from the subsea
wellhead to distant, possibly dry processing
installations, enormous cost savings would set
the offshore activities into a much better
economic situation. Bornemann entered the
Poseidon project in 1986 and delivered the first
multiphase pump in 1990 for the start of the
Poseidon field test campaign in Tunisia until
1992.
Fig. 1a: Multiphase Pump in Poseidon test field in Tunisia
The Research & Development Path of the
Multiphase Pump Technology
Dipl. -Ing. Gerhard Rohlfing
Joh. Heinr. Bornemann GmbH, Germany
2ND INTERNATIONAL EMBT CONFERENCE // THE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PATH OF THE MULTIPHASE PUMP TECHNOLOGY
Dipl. -Ing. Gerhard Rohlfing
Fig. 1b: Multiphase Pump in Poseidon test field in Tunisia
In the course of the field test campaign two
major unexpected phenomena could be
observed:
Prolonged gas phases
Even at moderate average gas volume fractions
below 90 %, prolonged 100 % gas phases as
dry running occurred frequently (several times
a day), leading to excessive heat generation,
temperature shut down, or even blocked the
rotating pump internals.
Thermal load on mechanical seals
The mechanical seals of this first generation
multiphase pump were located in the inlet
chamber of the multiphase pump directly
exposed to an inhomogeneous multiphase flow.
Permanent temperature variations (shocks) of
the seal faces led to temporary seal leakages or
even seal failures.
2. MTT Project
In the year 1987 the German Ministry for
Research and Technology asked GKSS-Research
Institute, located in Northern Germany, to
summarize the activities of several German
companies and institutes working on multiphase
technology and to suggest a joint research and
development project. The target was to define
the aim of such a development and to work out
the market potential of the new multiphase
technology. The available data regarding
energy consumption, oil & gas demands,
hydrocarbon reserves and resources were
considered together with a forecast until the
year 2020.
In the course of MTT-Project Bornemann
developed a similar multiphase pump like for
the Poseidon project which was subject to
intensive scientific tests in a test campaign
from 1990 until 1992.
Fig. 2a and b: Multiphase Pump in GKSS test field in
Geesthacht/Germany
In the GKSS test facilities, using water-nitrogen
mixtures, the capability of a twin-screw
multiphase pump to handle gas fractions up to
90 % was proven, the pressure build up along
the feed screws was examined, and the
capacity increase during pumping of liquid/ gas
mixtures was verified.
PAGES 74 // 75
The Research & Development Path of the Multiphase Pump Technology
Fig. 3a and b: Test result GKSS, pressure profile along
screw and flow versus differential pressure
During the MTT Project the test campaign also
included liquid slug simulation and extended
gas cap simulation. As a result of these
observations Bornemann applied for their base
multiphase patent in 1993.
3. PROCAP 2000 Project
The Procap 2000 Project and the directly
following research projects of the Brazilian
state-oil-company Petrobras are considered to
be one of the most important milestones for
multiphase technologies worldwide. Bornemann
entered the Procap 2000 Project in 1993 and
delivered a multiphase pump type MW7T-28 in
2004 for scientific examinations at Atalaia test
field close to the city of Aracaju in Northern
Brazil.
The Atalaia test field was the first full scale
multiphase test loop using real products
(crude oil and natural gas) for scientific
examination of multiphase pumps. The results
were presented at the Offshore Technology
Conference in 1997 (OTC 8448).
Fig. 4: Atalaia test field
Dipl. -Ing. Gerhard Rohlfing
Fig. 5: Atalaia test field, process flow diagram
Fig. 6: Atalaia test field, flow rate curves for oil and gas
Another important result was gained at Atalaia
test field. The inlet piping arrangement was
long enough (approx. 200 m) for perfect
generation of slug flow entering the multiphase
pump. The test field was equipped with two
different choke devices for generating the
differential pressure across the multiphase
pump. One directly located at the discharge and
two located at the top & bottom of the
separator downstream of the pump (for
separately choking of liquid & gas stream).
Using the choke valve directly located a the
discharge in slug flow conditions pulsation of
differential pressure higher than 20 bar could
be observed leading to not uniform, rough
running behavior of the multiphase pump.
Using the 2 choke valves at the separator in the
same slug flow conditions pulsation of
differential pressure did not occur and the
running behavior of the multiphase pump was
uniform and smooth. Herewith the worldwide
first practical prove for perfect slug handling
capabilities of twin-screw multiphase pump
technology was demonstrated.
Furthermore this test field layout in Atalaia had
important impact on other test fields worldwide
(especially on the actual Bornemann test field).
4. MPA Project
In the year 1997, 10 years after the start of the
first German multiphase technology project
MTT, the German Ministry for Research and
Education decided to support the next research
project for this technology: The MPA Project. In
a group of scientific partners from the
universities of Hannover, Bochum, Hamburg
and Munich, and the industrial partners
Burgmann/ Seals, GISMA/ Connectors, Helmke/
Electric Motors and Bornemann as project
leader, a Multiphase Pump Aggregate was
manufactured and installed in a dry location
with capabilities to simulate subsea conditions
of 1000 meter water depth by means of a
pressure vessel.
Fig. 7: MPA test location
2ND INTERNATIONAL EMBT CONFERENCE // THE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PATH OF THE MULTIPHASE PUMP TECHNOLOGY
PAGES 76 // 77
The Research & Development Path of the Multiphase Pump Technology
The MPA Test Aggregate is installed and
operated in a Wintershall sour gas field in
Northwest Germany since 2004. Besides the
simulation of a subsea environment the MPA
Project achieved the following targets:
- Extrapolation for power requirements up to
7 MW (10 000 HP),
- Verification of mechanical seal reliability in
multiphase pumps,
- Management of component wear in the
presence of aggressive fluids and solids,
- Continuous operation, control and
observation for 24000 working hours in
order to improve reliability figures of all
major components, and
- General further development of multiphase
boosting technology in regard to design,
monitoring and control.
Fig. 8: Extrapolation for power requirements up to 7 MW
(10000 HP)
Within the MPA Project Bornemann applied for
two important patents for multiphase boosting
technology:
The Smart Seal System for special demands in
multiphase pumping service,
And the manufacturing process for feed screws
allowing digressive screws, i.e. screws with a
decreasing pitch.
Fig. 9a to d: Digressive Screws, theory and practice
Dipl. -Ing. Gerhard Rohlfing
5. DEMO 2000 Project
In 1998 AkerKvaerner and Bornemann entered
in a cooperation agreement for subsea
multiphase boosting equipment. In the course
of this agreement AkerKvaerner was
participating in the DEMO 2000 project
supported by the Norwegian government.
Bornemann delivered the pump internals (type
SMPC 335) for AkerKvaerners Subsea
MultiBooster.
Fig. 10a and b: Pump internals for DEMO 2000
This module was subject to several scientific
test campaigns at AkerKvaerners internal test
facilities as well as Statoils K-Lab. Finally the
DEMO 2000 module was installed in CNRIs
Lyell Field in the North Sea, as the first twin-
screw multiphase pump under real field sub sea
conditions and is in operation since February
2006.
Fig. 11a and b: DEMO 2000 subsea pump module and field
installation at Lyell in the UKNS
2ND INTERNATIONAL EMBT CONFERENCE // THE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PATH OF THE MULTIPHASE PUMP TECHNOLOGY
PAGES 78 // 79
The Research & Development Path of the Multiphase Pump Technology
6. MPT Project
In the frame work of a Russian / German Agreement
for scientific and technical cooperation from the year
2005 the German Ministry of Education and Research
decided to support the MPT Association with the
research project for sustained utilization of
hydrocarbon reserves by implementing multiphase
boosting technology. This project covers the whole
process chain, from the reservoir until hydrocarbon
utilization.
In the course of this project the Russian industrial
partner and Bornemann manufactured a test
multiphase pump system especially designed for the
demands of single well multiphase boosting.
This test aggregate was officially presented in
Russia on March 12, 2008 and will be installed
for field testing in an oilfield in Western Siberia
in summer 2008.
Fig. 12: Multiphase pump aggregate for single well boosting
Fig. 13 a and b: Single well boosting in Canada
Dipl. -Ing. Gerhard Rohlfing
7. Acknowledgements
The actual state of the art of the Bornemann
multiphase boosting technology is a result of
numerous national and international research
projects.
The presented scientific work has been
developed within the MTT/MPT joint research
projects supported by the Federal Ministry for
Education and Research in close cooperation
with the involved industrial companies
Burgmann, Helmke, Gisma and Wintershall. We
would like to thank the partners there intensive
cooperation and broad support. Special thanks
to the Governments of Brazil, France, Norway,
and Russia, as well as to the oil companies
Statoil, Total, PDVSA, Petrobras, CNRI, LUKoil
and Wintershall for the support of these
projects by operating multiphase pumps in their
oil & gas fields.
Finally very special thanks to Professor Heinrich
Gnter Schafstall for the coordination of all
German scientific activities in multiphase
boosting technology for more than 20 years.
8. References
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ZEITSCHRIFT Heft 2 Germany 1957,
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Status Report, Germany 2004,
(3) H G Schafstall, Multiphase-Flow in the
Federal Republic of Germany, Multiphase
Flow Workshop, Copenhagen, Denmark
1989,
(4) H G Schafstall, Research and
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for Multiphase Pumping 4th EC
Symposium, Berlin, Germany 1992,
(6) S Scott, Multiphase boosting The future
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2ND INTERNATIONAL EMBT CONFERENCE // THE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PATH OF THE MULTIPHASE PUMP TECHNOLOGY