The Tri-Phaze fluid transfer system from Moyno Inc. features a progressing cavity pump designed to simultaneously transfer gas, oil and water, as well as sandy fluid, from the well site or battery location through a single pipeline to a remote processing station without degradation or emulsification of the fluids. The system can handle up to 80,000 barrels of fluid per day at up to 1,350 psi and gas volume fractions of up to 95 percent.
“The old way of doing it was to separate the fluids into different tanks,” says Mike Amburgey, Moyno lead engineer. “You can either put a compressor on the gas and a pump on the liquid and combine that into a pipeline, or use two different pipelines. But all that adds infrastructure. You have to add tanks, compressors, pipelines. To put that at each well site or battery becomes very cost prohibitive.”
The ability to combine fluids and gas also eliminates the need for flaring.
Diversity Offerings
Amburgey says in 2008, one company flared off 17 percent of its natural gas. “What our system does is it allows a company to combine that gas and oil into a common manifold and send it back to a central processing center up to 50 kilometers (approximately 30 miles) away. So you go from having tanks and buildings and auxiliary equipment to one smaller, lower-cost unit that does the same thing.”
For the contractor, the system provides an opportunity to diversify service offerings, says Eric Gray, Moyno OEM sales manager. “You might have a well that’s low performing because it doesn’t produce enough reasonable pressure to get the stream to where it needs to go. They might be dumping it into a tank and hauling it. You can put a Tri-Phaze pump in place, connect it to the existing piping, and allow it to provide the energy to move the gas and oil from the well site to the next battery or processing center. The Tri-Phaze pump reduces the pressure on the suction (well head pressure) while maintaining much higher pressure on the discharge. It’s an advantage for the field owner to produce more fluids, and for the contractor, it’s another revenue stream.”
Because most wells produce a combination of oil, water and gas, the system is designed to handle large gas volume fractions. “There are times when you can get slugs coming up the well of maybe 100 percent gas,” Gray says. “And you have to be able to accommodate that. We’re good to 95 percent. The ratio of gas to liquids varies. You just never know with any given well what you have from day to day.”
Monitoring Options
The Tri-Phaze system can be monitored on site or from a remote location through an automation control package that manages operations, records and reports data and optimizes communications.
Available in 20 standard models with pumps ranging from 15 to 250 hp, the largest system measures approximately 3 feet wide, 20 feet long and 3 feet high and weighs 10,000 pounds. The semi-portable system, typically mounted on an I-beam base and concrete slab, can be moved from well site to well site.
When it comes to maintenance, the rotor/stator is the only major item requiring replacement, Gray says. “Beyond that, it’s more preventive maintenance that you would do on any piece of rotating equipment with bearings. There’s a lubrication system that needs to be maintained. Other than that, it’s pretty maintenance friendly.” 800/874-7430; www.moyno.com.
