Global offshore technology development consortium DeepStar has awarded artificial lift technology company Upwing Energy and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) the next phase of the magnetic drive system project
The new phase will include the design, construction and testing of enabling technologies that are the backbone of Upwing’s MDS concept for a reliable and retrievable Electric Submersible Pump (ESP).
The proof-of-concept phase, which targets deepwater offshore and subsea oil well applications, is sponsored and funded by the Nippon Foundation-DeepStar Joint Ocean Innovation programme and supported by project champions Chevron, Shell, Petrobras and Equinor.
Herman Artinian, president and CEO of Upwing Energy, said, “The innovative MDS topology built on advanced magnetic technologies will significantly increase production uptime while decreasing the total cost of ownership by 75 per cent in deepwater offshore applications.
“We greatly value the support extended by the Nippon Foundation - DeepStar Joint Ocean Innovation programme, which plays an important role in addressing the technical issues confronting deepwater production.”
Upwing Energy will design, fabricate and test a full-scale passive radial bearing assembly as well as a magnetic vibration and temperature sensor system to be utilised between the pump stages and motor in the MDS. MHI will design, fabricate and test a few stages of the high-speed, efficient hydraulic pump.
The technical and economic viability of the MDS pump system will be determined by the detailed prototype design and validation of major MDS components.
Upwing and MHI engineers are scheduled to start work on Phase II of the project in June and complete the experimental prototype, including component testing, by May 2021.
