THE oil and gas industry turns to Sulzer Pumps for innovative pumping solutions set apart by outstanding engineering.

Highly engineered pumps are customised for individual applications as diverse as seawater injection, condensate extraction, fire fighting, seawater lift and oil export. Pumping solutions are provided for arduous platform environments and for transportation through intercontinental pipeline systems.
Among the many innovations the company has introduced is the twistlock barrel design. “In response to new industry demands, we have become the world’s leading supplier of helioaxial multiphase pumps for both surface and subsea multiphase pumping,” says a company spokesman.
Hydrocarbon extraction plants, refineries, petrochemical and gas plants run sophisticated production processes requiring reliable pumping solutions that meet stringent industry specifications.
Sulzer Pumps, with its high-quality product line, is known for being able to meet these specifications consistently. Continuous product innovations like its new line of hermetically sealed horizontal and vertical process pumps are helping the industry improve its operational efficiency.
“All our pumps are engineered in line with the latest standards issued by the American Petroleum Institute, ISO and ANSI in order to ensure reliable and safe production at your site,” he says.
Oil sands are the emerging giant of the petroleum industry. Over the last 20 years, production from the oil sands has doubled. Development of this resource, among the largest deposits of oil in the world, has already led to the creation of a unique knowledge base, advanced technologies, and a highly skilled workforce. With this solid foundation the oil sands industry is moving forward.
The economic feasibility of process technologies, which obtain synthetic crude from tar sand reserves, means that energy producers require a flexibility and reliability in pumping for bitumen mining extraction and the more traditional oil production pipeline services.
These processes require full API 610 compliance as well as rugged and reliable Sulzer industrial pumps. Many applications also require abrasion resistant pumping components. “Here our close relationship with Sulzer Metco — world renown for its spray coating technology — gives our customers a unique advantage,” he says.
Sulzer’s innovative technological solutions and equipment support the sophisticated processes which convert crude oil into transportation fuel and feedstocks for the petrochemical industry.
Sulzer has always been at the forefront of pre-engineered and engineered pump designs, using the widest range of materials to produce safe and reliable equipment for handling of process liquids at a full range of pressures and temperatures and at the same time taking full consideration of the environmental impact.
Converting natural gas leaving the wellhead into liquefied natural gas (LNG) or converting it in the gas-to-liquid process (GTL) into middle distillates is not only good conservation policy but also profitable business.
Regardless of the process used to recover natural gas Sulzer has the charge and process pumps, service, utility and speciality pumps to accomplish all tasks.
Hydrocarbon processes require the highest standards of safety, reliability and emission control. Improvements in equipment, mean time between failure (MTBF) and lower total life cycle cost (TLCC) continue to be urgent and high priority issues.
In petrochemical processing, as opposed to refining, lower operating pressures and temperatures are the norm but more corrosive liquids are processed. Sulzer is a leader in this industry mainly because we offer top quality alloy foundry expertise and appropriate application know-how. This high quality has a large impact on the reliability and safety of the pumps.
Meanwhile, in a bid to simplify the procurement process, Saudi Aramco has embarked on an ambitious programme of determining the best business practices and commercial terms with all its key suppliers. The agreement with Sulzer is the first, and additional agreements with other companies are expected in the coming months.
The agreement covers the supply of products, system solutions, and services from all Sulzer divisions to Saudi Aramco for a 10-year period. Sulzer and Aramco have a long standing business relationship, and both companies feel that by moving to this higher level of cooperation greater efficiency gains may be achieved.
This is of particular importance as Saudi Aramco continues its high level of capital investment in both upstream and downstream projects in the oil and gas market.
“Sulzer is looking forward to using the agreement as a future trading platform with Saudi Aramco and its partners,” he says.
Referring to a typical case where Sulzer played a role, he says recently, a major oil company needed a ‘tiny’ multiphase circulation pump for a new process developed by them for use in a petrochemical plant.
This process could contain up to 20 per cent gas (mainly CO2). Head and flow required are nominal values that could easily be accomplished with an ISO 13709 OH2 (end suction single stage) type pump – were it not for the substantial gas content. After investigating several alternatives it was concluded that Sulzer Pumps technology addressed the process needs. It was the only manufacturer capable of guaranteeing stable operation of the pump whatever the (fluctuating) gas content was.
The solution was to use Sulzer’s OHH pump (ISO 13709/API 610 OH2 design) equipped with a helico-axial hydraulic taken from the world record holding MPP multistage multiphase pumps. In order to prove this solution met the system requirements, tests were carried out in the company’s development centre in Winterthur, Switzerland.
Meanwhile, Sulzer Pompes France is currently manufacturing pump sets for two end-users who use the process licence. Further orders are expected shortly as the technology becomes established with end users. The Sulzer Pumps MPP-OHH is ideal for any process containing gas (up to 40 per cent) where separation is not desirable or practical. The range covers flows up to 600 cu m/h, pressure rises up to 5 bar (70 psi) and powers up to 250 kW (330 HP). Sulzer Pumps has also been awarded a major order for a total of 36 pumps for the Hongyanhe and Ningde nuclear power plants in China.
CNPEC (China Guangdong Nuclear Power Engineering Company Limited), LHNP (Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Co Ltd) and NDNP (Ningde Nuclear Power Co Ltd) placed an order for the supply of the conventional island main boiler feed water pumps and associated boosters on Sulzer. First deliveries, phased to match the stations build programs, are expected in June 2010.
In accordance with the localisation policy of the Chinese government, Sulzer Pumps facilities in France, the UK, and China will work closely together to supply the pump-sets with Sulzer Pumps China playing an important role in the projects.
Sulzer Pumps is well established in China with a modern, purpose-built factory in Dalian and strategically located service centres. The Sulzer China manufacturing plant is one of the few approved for nuclear applications and underlines the commitment of Sulzer Pumps to the Chinese market and region. Sulzer Pumps has been active in the Chinese nuclear power programme for nearly 20 years and has also supplied many hundreds of boiler feed pumps for China’s conventional power generation projects.
The spokesman says the new Sulzer Pumps Glasgow office has been an amazing success. Since the official opening in September 2007 the sales group has taken over $18 million in new business orders. With more hot prospects in the pipeline, the level of success is all the more impressive considering it was achieved during the start up phase.
The office is more than a sales operation though, full pump and package design capability means that many of the orders won by the sales group are being engineered by their colleagues in the same location. Direct links via the Leeds factory to the company network allows the engineering team to be a fully contributing member of the global Sulzer Pumps engineering community. The current value of orders being engineered for production by the Glasgow office is currently in excess of $40 million covering a wide range of products and market sectors.
Working closely with their colleagues, the Glasgow based purchasing team is active in procuring castings and other raw materials needed to produce many of the pumps sold or engineered from the office. The speed with which the team, currently numbering 18 people, has integrated into the Sulzer Pumps organisation has been at the core of their success. Their determination to succeed has impressed everyone who has visited the offices from other Sulzer locations. It is expected more people may be needed in the near future in order to support the ever increasing workload; the office layout has been designed to accommodate this expansion, he continues.
Sulzer Pumps South Africa will manage, manufacture, and test the pumps in its Johannesburg facility ensuring the highest possible project value is retained within South Africa. The pumps will be delivered in phases beginning in late 2009 to match the building of the six individual 798.3 MW power generating blocks that make up the station’s capacity. Final deliveries will be in mid 2011.