Innovative offshore gas platform
‘flawless startup’ with Neptune
seawater-resistant electric sump
GLEN ELLYN, IL — Blackhawk Technology Company, leading manufacturer of top-head-drive piston pumps, is supplying high-performance Neptune caisson sump pumps to an innovative, multi-billion-dollar offshore gas platform now under construction in the Southern Hemisphere.
When fully operational, the joint-venture platform will recover low-pressure gas from established fields. Blackhawk’s positive-displacement Neptune top-head-drive pump jacks were specially built to pump deck drainage that accumulates in the platform’s caisson sump. The rugged but lightweight Neptune is designed to handle tar, oil, and other viscous hydrocarbon liquids in saltwater caisson sump environments.
The managing firm is employing a "flawless startup" process, in which each platform component is tested for reliability and compatibility prior to phased installation.
With shallow or deep capabilities, the Neptune positive-displacement pump uses an active-recovery process that draws product from a specified depth at a specified rate anywhere between 0 — 11 US gpm (41.6 lpm). In addition, it pumps common deck-wash debris, such as ear plugs, tape and other floating detritus, without fouling.
Blackhawk’s Neptune builds on the century-old reliability of an oil-field pump jack, refined with next-generation technology, to produce pneumatic or electric top-head motors that drive a caisson piston from the surface deck, safely and cleanly away from the liquids being pumped.
Constructed of high-grade stainless steel, the Neptune operates effectively in saltwater and offers high efficiency, superior wear resistance and constant, controllable pumping speeds. It pumps fluids all the way to the bottom of the piston inlet, generating up to 2.6 Bar (380 psi) pressure, equal to 880 ft. (268 meters) TDH. Neptune performance is unaffected by viscous warm liquids or other sump/caisson conditions such as temperature or corrosion.
"We are excited to work with the platform’s exacting engineers to give them the custom pumps they need in this difficult environment," said Mark Bertane, Blackhawk’s president. "Blackhawk actively collaborates with our customers to develop hands-on innovations that work. As the professionals’ choice in leading technology, Blackhawk is making pumping simpler, more productive and more cost efficient."
Blackhawk Technology Company is the originator and the No. 1 manufacturer of top-head-drive, positive-displacement piston pumps — leading-edge technology refined by nearly 20 years of customer-driven improvements. Blackhawk continues to introduce innovative products to the industry’s most comprehensive line of pneumatic, electric and windmill-driven piston pumps and pump supplies, all designed to withstand the harshest weather and downhole pumping environments. Founded in 1990, the company originated landfill and groundwater remediation piston pumps covered by several patents and marks, with others pending. No one offers more real-world experience in tough landfills, chemical facilities, hydrocarbon production and remediation sites throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.