Framo's submerged electric seawater lifting pumps on the Al Shaheen field in Qatar have been pumping non-stop for 13 years.

180 km north of Doha lies Al Shaheen, Qatar's biggest offshore oil field. With facilities consisting of 33 platforms and 300+ wells, it is one of the largest and most complex oil fields in the world. Producing at a rate of 300 000 barrels of oil per day, it accounts for 45% of Qatar's total oil production.

In the midst of this complex oil field, Framo has its own success story. Back in 2007 when Maersk Oil Qatar was still operator of the field, they acquired 10 Framo submerged electric seawater lifting pumps, to be installed on Al Shaheen platform BE and BG. Since commissioned in 2008, the pumps have been operating smoothly without a major overhaul for over 13 years. Keeping the system running saves OPEX, and ensures a smile on the client's face.

Sales Manager, Sigve Gjerstad, explains that Framo Singapore is now running a routine maintenance campaign, where the pumps are brought to the Singapore workshop, which is fully fitted for a major overhaul campaign.

As of June 2016, Qatar Petroleum and the French major Total established a new company known as North Oil Company, which effectively took over the field operations - including the Framo pumps.

Developed to improve reliability

"The technology behind our pumps is very robust. Over the lifetime of a field, this will add up to significant OPEX savings for the clients, being one of our strongest sales points" - Sigve Gjerstad

13 years of operation without a major overhaul is not possible without a good, robust design at the core of the product.

When designing and developing Framo's submerged electric seawater lifting pump, it was important to make a robust and simple design, avoiding features that made existing pump solutions in the market less reliable and complex to handle.

Eliminating rotating parts in the riser pipe was identified as a key element to ensure a competitive design, thus leading to the submerged electric Framo SE pump with an integrated pump/motor unit.

Sigve reflects on how the original design was further improved.

"The first offshore seawater lifting pumps were delivered at the end of the 1980s. Today's pumps are based on the original design, but with an integrated conductor system. This eliminates the need to install underwater power cables, something we know has been a struggle while handling conventional electric submersible pumps".

Did you know that...

• The Framo SE pump has a design range stretching from small 200 m3/hour pumps to high capacity, high power pumps delivering up to 15 000 m3/hour.
• The Framo SE pumps come with a condition monitoring unit on the top plate that measures temperature, pressure, cleanliness, and seal leakage data, eliminating the need for submerged instrumentation.
• The integrated pump and motor configuration makes the unit very compact and gives one of the highest power-to-weight ratios in the pumping industry.

Unbeatable combination

Based on more than 30 years of experience with seawater lifting pumps, Framo can now offer customers a performance contract with guaranteed uptime over a specific period of time at a fixed rate. Framo takes care of all maintenance costs and ensures optimal operation via remote monitoring and close dialogue with the clients.

"There are many factors to explain how a pump can operate non-stop for 13 years. We are extremely confident in our technology. When the customer also plays their part by following our guidelines for how to operate and maintain the pumps, you have an unbeatable combination.", Sigve states.

Explore our Seawater lift technology.