Economic efficiency, and in some cases, the overall feasibility of field development with application of water injection system is critical in present-day conditions. However, economic efficiency, in its turn, consists of at least two main interrelated factors: energy efficiency and reliability. Improving energy efficiency is a sophisticated problem that involves extensive measures regarding process flow diagrams, methods, processes and equipment, mostly pumping equipment. However, equipment reliability is also a challenging task, closely related to energy efficiency and having a significant impact on the process cycle and sustainability of operational procedures. State-of-the-art water-injection and oil-gathering technologies impose strict requirements to pumping equipment reliability. In its turn, equipment reliability is based on obligatory application of advanced control and maintenance techniques and requires a comprehensive approach to solving engineering and technical problems. Ensuring successful operation of pumping equipment in water-injection system over a long period of time implies a zero-tolerance approach to selection of equipment design and materials based on physical and chemical properties of the liquid to be pumped, as well as site conditions, with due regard for possible seasonal changes in pumping characteristics; proper equipment installation, positioning, and operation as required by the service manual; possibility of diagnosing at stated intervals, but ideally, continuous monitoring of changes in pumping parameters and early pre-emergency warning. In case of failure, the cause must be carefully investigated and certain steps must be taken to identify the root cause of the problem in order to prevent its recurrence, which imposes certain requirements to the skills of the operating staff. Pumping equipment of water-injection and oil-gathering systems very rarely has emergency failures if it is properly installed, dynamically balanced, mounted on a specified base with acceptable alignment, properly lubricated, started, operated and stopped as required by the operating instructions, and if well-qualified personnel monitor any deviations in parameter values. However, evaluation of the equipment efficiency is rather challenging. One of the parameters for such evaluation is cost of ownership.
The paper considers various approaches to equipment maintenance, discusses distribution of pump failure sources in water-injection and oil-gathering systems based on practical knowledge, and considers the issue of estimating owning cost and differences in its specific values. Key factors for the development of reliability technology are presented.
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