Wanner International has announced that it was celebrating the installation of its 60th alkali surfactant polymer injection pump for a large Indian exploration and production company.

The first Hydra-Cell seal-less and packing-free API 674 pumps for polymer injection, which were installed within their oil field sites almost five years ago, have been running 24/7 in continuous operation for over 50 months with no interruption to production.

These pumps inject polymer with a viscosity of 20-50cP into the well at a flow rate of 4m³ per hour, with the discharge pressure ranging from 20-100 Bar, depending on the well’s characteristics.

Within some of the sites, the pumps’ flow rates run at approximately 2m³ per hour, with pressure ranging from 50 bar to 140 bar. With the latter, the higher pressure is required as the pump is running at ground level, injecting the polymer 1700m below the surface.

Because of Hydra-Cell’s very low-shear pumping action, polymer consumption can be reduced by up to 15%. The unique valve design enables the low shear pumping action, minimising the polymer shear, and optimising polymer usage. With no dynamic seals, the pumps ensure the polymer is 100% contained and with no leakage there is no waste and the polymer is free from oxygen, which stops degradation.

For the first 14 pumps installed, the typical maintenance was less than $3,000 over five years, equivalent to just over $40 per pump per year! A plunger pump with dynamic seals and packing would have incurred costs of almost $6,000 per pump in a year, as estimated by the manufacturer themselves.  

Wanner Hydra-Cell pumps are designed for 25+ years’ service life with ease of repurposing for other duties. They are very simple to service, with no special tools required for “in-field” inspection of the liquid end. Hydra-Cells can run dry indefinitely and are self-priming. They are highly efficient, with more than 90% energy delivery from pump shaft to hydraulic power, achieving significant energy savings.

Paul Davis, Managing Director of Wanner International, said: “Our aim is to help our customers maximise their oil & gas production in the most efficient way possible, with no unplanned downtime, and our API 674 process pumps are doing that day after day, year after year. The success of this application is being repeated across the world, and we are looking forward to showing visitors to India Energy Week just how we achieve this.”

Polymer injection plays an important role in EOR, which is usually the tertiary stage of an oil field after primary production and waterflooding.

For more information visit https://www.hydra-cell.co.uk/OilandGas