Gullfaks Multiphase Booster Project

A Poseidon Multiphase Pump has been Installed and is presently running on Statoil`s Gullfaks A platform in the North Sea, giving additional pressure to one of the wells. The main objective of this work has been to qualify the Poseidon Booster Technology, technically and operationally, and to provide a reliable and industrialized tool for multiphase boosting, either sub sea or installed topside a platform. The paper gives a brief summary of the project and describes the Poseidon pump, the platform installation and outlines the experience and results from the ongoing qualification test. The Gullfaks booster, as delivered by Framo Engineering AS, has up to January 1995 accumulated 2,400 running hours. The booster is fully integrated into the production systems on the platform. The daily operations are carried out from the central control room by the ordinary platform staff. The objectives of the test program have so far been successfully fulfilled. Multiphase booster technology combined with progress in multiphase flow technology will have a significant impact on development and production of smaller oil and gas fields that today are assumed to be non-profitable.