The Artificial Lift Research and Technology Center (ALRTC), Claremore, Oklahoma, is the premier facility of its kind in the industry. ALRTC is the first facility anywhere capable of testing fully integrated systems for customers prior to installation in the field.
The ability to anticipate future industry demands and potential obstacles—then to develop and test solutions in simulated, real world environments—gives owner and customers a significant edge. OR clearly reflects the leadership position of owner and customers.
Planning and design by Energy Architecture to meet the highly complex requirements of the project resulted in a technical building solution with four components:
ALRTC is designed to test multiple technologies: artificial lifts, intelligent production systems, completion equipment, and monitoring instrumentation used in a production stream.
With 15 various flow loops and test well configurations, the Center provides the industry’s most extensive testing capabilities: 6 Test wells, 3 legacy wells, 1 dynamometer test well, and 5 application-specific flow loops.
The Center is equipped with the world’s largest diameter and deepest test wells to simulate harsh testing environments. Test wells can perform a full production system test of artificial lift and associated completion equipment—or a simple test of subcomponents.
Three test pits, each housing two test wells, are located in the center of the facility. Test well diameters vary from 12” to 40”; depths from 400’ to 1000.’
Each test well has a dedicated 3-valve manifold in the basement for testing pumps at flow rates varying from one to 200,000 barrels per day. Fluid in each of three 70,000 gallon reservoirs is pumped to a large air- cooled heat exchanger to control fluid temperatures and simulate actual conditions.
For test monitoring, the facility includes an 18-person control room and two customer viewing suites with a bird’s eye view of the testing floor.
The Electrical Building has three levels to house transformers, variable speed drives and medium voltage drives. There are overhead cranes at each level and openings in the floors to facilitate chaining out of transformers and drives as the individual tests dictate. The transformer vault is located in the basement.
Transformers step down the 13,200 volts of power coming into the facility to 480 volts before the power is sent to the variable speed drives. Each test well pit has a dedicated set of variable speed drives (519 KVA, 1,000KVA, and 2,000 KVA) to power the downhole equipment.
ALRTC can also accommodate a customer’s own medium voltage drives and control systems for testing of the customer’s full system.
-Research Laboratories include five areas dedicated development and testing of new concepts in fiber optics, electronics, calibration, and prototyping.
-The Workshop includes a welding shop, machine shop, and winding room, motor test benches, flow loop testing areas and tool assembly.
“Energy Architecture came into this project strongly grounded in dealing with complex technical challenges,” said Executive Name. “We’re very proud of this facility that gives us capabilities to think and work far into the future.”
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