Two Rimera Group companies, Alnas and Izhneftemash, started making an industrial prototype of a submersible electro-hydraulically actuated plant for extraction of heavy oil.

 

The submersible electro-hydraulically actuated plant (SEHAP) is a joint development of Rimera Group’s Research and Development Center, JSC Alnas, and JSC Izhneftemash. It is intended for extraction of oil with any water-cut, high viscosity and high solids content, typical for production wells with low flow rates, including curved and inclined ones, with lift up to 5,500 m (18,045 ft.).

 

The design of SEHAP is a unique synthesis of technical solutions used in electric submersible pumps (ESPs) and sucker rod pumps (SRPs), and was patented in 2013. Production of the prototype system is conducted at the Almetyevsk and Izhevsk facilities of Rimera Group: Alnas will produce the submersible electric motor, and Izhneftemash, the hydraulic actuator and the plunger (working) pump for SEHAP assembly. One of the branches of Rimera Service, a service network of Rimera Group, will participate in pilot tests of the new system.

 

According to the calculations of the developers of the submersible electro-hydraulically actuated plant, its efficiency factor significantly exceeds that of ESP and can be as high as 75% (versus 23% for ESP systems on low flow rate).

 

“In fact, the installation is able to work as a multiphase pump, a compressor. This technical feature can significantly increase the rate of oil recovery. In addition, SEHAP has both cost and technical (efficiency, power consumption, setting depth) advantages over plants using screw pumps and sucker rod pumps. That’s why its use as an alternative to traditional low flow rate installations will enable oil companies to cut the cost of equipment upgrade and stock of wells operation overhead. Taking into account the increasing number of low-producing wells in the Russian oilfields, we plan to bring products to market which fully meet the new conditions of oil production. This includes the new submersible electro-hydraulically actuated plant,” says Sergei Sibirev, director of Rimera Group Research and Development Center.

 

By bidding on a unique set of operating assets, Rimera Group offers its customers a combination of equipment manufacturing and servicing designed to address one of the major concerns of oil companies in Russia. According to specialists, thanks to the new specifications SEHAP can be used on 44% of the total domestic stock of wells.