Bosch Rexroth Ghana fixes oil pumps

Bosch Rexroth Ghana's engineering team celebrates the conclusion of a successful project

Engineering company Bosch Rexroth Ghana (BR Ghana) has completed repair works to nine submerged cargo pumps owned by Shell Oil and Exploration in Nigeria.

Located in the Bonga oilfield off the coast of Nigeria, the HPU double cargo pumps are part of the Framo Crude Oil Pumping System.

The pumps are part of facility that transfers crude oil from the oil production platform into floating vessels, and are essential to Shell’s operations in the region.

BR Ghana (part of the Bosch Rexroth Group) was contracted to undertake the works in July 2020, after establishing a repair plan with technical expertise from the Bosch Rexroth South Africa team.

The team conducted a total hydraulic investigation and inspection and found that all the pumps were contaminated.

Due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions impacting the availability and supply of replacement parts, BR Ghana carried out the repairs in stages.

The repairs included the de-assembly of the double pumps A4VSO, stripping and analysis of the parts, the identification of faulty components and the compilation of a detailed inspection report.

Alex Booth, Bosch Rexroth regional manager for West Africa, said, “Repairs were completed on the first four pump units in December, which was sufficient in preventing any downtime to Shell’s operations.”

According to BR Ghana, the remaining five pumps were repaired and re-certified in January 2021. Describing the repair project as “a huge success for the Bosch Rexroth West Africa team”, the project was completed 30 days ahead of schedule.

The company added that, “It also serves as a milestone for Bosch Rexroth’s Nigerian business development as it pursues market share growth in the large, but competitive, oil & gas sector.”