Sealed deal

During 2013, Texas oil well operator Brammer Petroleum replaced a leak-prone triplex 80 horsepower pump on a brine injection application. 

The replacement pump is leak-free, a triplex of completely different design. 

Manufactured by Wanner Engineering, the leak-free pump is one of the company’s latest T Series 80 hp pumps, representing the latest significant expansion of the company’s range of seal-less diaphragm pumps into higher levels of pressure and flow.

Capacity has been the chief limitation

Brammer CEO Larry Brammer

When introduced at the Offshore Technology Conference in 2010, the first T Series pump won an OTC innovation award as a development “capable of revolutionising the industry by providing significant benefits beyond existing technologies”. 

At Brammer’s Hutchinson C lease oil well, produced salt water is re-injected via four injection wells to shift oil from the formation to six production wells.

Working flows and pressures range up to 1500 bbl/day and 1550 psi.

The injection pump is the company’s Hydra-Cell T80K model. 

It has been operational from the outset on the same 23-hour daily duty as its plunger-type predecessor, but with minimal maintenance and no sign of wear, leaks or loss of performance, the company says.

Brammer Petroleum chief executive officer Larry Brammer says: “We’ve used some of the smaller Hydra-Cell pumps for 20 years and we like the fact that they don’t use packings. 

“Capacity has been the chief limitation. The first Hydra-Cell we installed had a maximum flow rate of 20 gpm, and use was restricted to smaller wells, producing up to 500 bbl/day.”

A bigger pump (the 5-diaphragm D35) extended possibilities for Brammer Petroleum and both models continue to handle produced salt water reliably with no leaks, Brammer says.

The company’s experience with seal-reliant triplex plunger pumps on re-injection duty has not been as fruitful – ranging from continuous small leaks of grass-killing water to broken plungers, high repair costs and pumps breaking down on a regular basis.

For Brammer, a major advantage of all Hydra-Cell pumps is their unique seal-less design. 

Multiple diaphragms manifolded together in a single pump head give low pulsation, compact build and enable in-situ maintenance of the liquid end. 

The diaphragms are also designed to isolate wetted parts and the pumped liquid from the drive mechanism, which operates submerged in oil.

No packings or dynamic seals are needed or included.

Hydra-Cell T Series pumps were developed with the oil and gas industry environment in mind, initially replacing conventional triplex pumps as the surface pump delivering power fluid to downhole jet pumps.

T Series pumps are now a serious alternative to plunger pumps and other types over a wider field of activity, working on a variety of applications that include water flooding, enhanced oil recovery, salt water disposal and boiler feed for steam injection in the recovery of heavy crude oil from shallow wells.