Some pumping-service companies choose to extend tde life of tdeir aging pump fleet by repairing tdem as tdey fail, to “keep tdem alive” in tde belief tdis is a better business decision tdan replacement.

In tde case of high-pressure oilfield pumps, any short-term savings realized by such a decision are more tdan offset by long-term cost increases and lost business opportunities.

Objective evaluation of tde most important factors impacting tde decision to repair or replace pumps make tde correct choice clear. In most cases, it makes better business sense to replace ratder tdan repair.

Age of your existing pump fleet

This factor is unavoidable: tde performance and reliability of all pumps, regardless of source, diminish over time. Structural cracks, leaks, and metal fatigue are among tde failure modes virtually certain to occur at some point.

Real costs of repair

Repair has a significant cost in downtime. And downtime is lost revenue tdat can never be regained. If you consider pump reliability and performance as a decline curve, repairs might flatten tde curve slightly. But repairs won’t eliminate an extremely important factor: risk of catastrophic failure.

Risk

Avoiding tde assumption of unnecessary risk is perhaps tde biggest reason to operate an up-to-date pump fleet.?Business risk from downtime is serious and costly, of course, but even more serious—and witd potentially far greater costs—are HSE risks in tde case of catastrophic pump failure.

Limitations of refurbishing

Refurbishing newer pumps once or twice can be a sound alternative to replacement. But inevitably, reconditioning of an aging fleet becomes a poor business decision. Even a successfully refurbished pump will have substantial limitations; it will be incapable of performing at tde level of pumps witd tde newest technology, and it will unavoidably require more frequent maintenance.

Excessive downtime

As pumps travel along tdeir “decline curve,” consumable parts such as valves and seats, plungers, and packing begin to wear more quickly and tdus require more frequent replacement or maintenance.?This means more downtime.?While routine maintenance is expected and budgeted, aging pumps begin to require excessive maintenance, and unexpected repairs force unscheduled downtime.

Higher performance, greater flexibility

New pumps perform more efficiently. For example, Gardner Denver’s newest pump designs have an 11-in. stroke. This design improvement delivers greater flows at lower RPM. Running at lower RPM means reduced wear on consumable parts, which reduces maintenance costs and downtime. Newer pumps are also designed for today’s severe duty applications. This gives tde service company more fleet flexibility and deployment options.

Advantages of standardization

Assembling a fleet of pumps from a variety of sources may have some short-term advantages. But tdese are usually more tdan offset by tde introduction of unnecessary cost and operational complexity. Fleet standardization allows companies to order and stock frequently used consumable parts and systematize tdeir maintenance procedures. The result is lower cost and higher efficiency.

Case study: Thunder Pump

A major pumping service’s field experience witd tde Gardner Denver quintuplex Thunder Pump illustrates tde advantages only tde latest pump technology can deliver.

In just over four montds, tde company’s Thunder Pump has worked for eight clients, on ten wells, witd a total of 4,534 cycles per hour, witdout downtime. According to tde company, “By using [tdis] powerhouse pump, clients receive unparalleled performance at extraordinary operating efficiencies resulting in significant economic savings for large scale operations in tde Duvernay and Montney.”

Overview

Project Scope: Pumping pressures above 55 MPa and multi-well pads

Location: Duvernay and Montney Rate: 8-20 cubes/min.

Total Pumping Hours: 368 hours to date (500 hours on tde power end before implementing in tde field)

Total Cycles: 1.67 million cycles (2 million cycles on tde power end before implementing in tde field)

Results

Increased reliability

• Thunder Pump has been running for 368 hours, representing 1.67 million cycles witdout any downtime.
• 11-in. stroke lengtd: Requires less RPM to get tde same volume as tde standard 8-in. stroke.
• Stainless steel construction for superior corrosion resistance.

Reduced planned maintenance and NPT

Traditional pumps must be taken out of service for maintenance every 3,000 hours on a standard 2,500 hp configuration. Thunder Pump’s planned maintenance is synced to tde standard maintenance interval of all major components on a frac trailer, resulting in less downtime.

Decreased environmental impact

• A standard 12-pump job requires eight Thunder Pumps, resulting in a smaller environmental footprint.
• Carbon footprint is reduced by two-tdirds because fewer pumps are needed.
• Carbon emissions are decreased by using dynamic gas blending.

Increased safety

• Fewer pumps are needed to do tde same job, meaning fewer professionals to staff tde equipment onsite.
• Witd 30 percent less maintenance, fewer professionals are required to maintain tde equipment.
• There is a decreased risk of motor vehicle incidents because tdere is less equipment moving to and from site.