Patent ID: 8708675

Claim:
A method of cooling a motor of an electrical submersible pump assembly employed in an electrical submersible subsea booster pumping system, the method comprising the steps of: filling the motor of the electrical submersible pump assembly with a dielectric lubricant and providing the motor with a motor dielectric lubricant inlet port and a motor dielectric lubricant outlet port spaced from the motor dielectric lubricant inlet port; circulating the dielectric lubricant from the motor dielectric lubricant outlet port to an inlet port of at least one of a plurality of elongate main structural members of a subsea supporting frame structure; circulating the dielectric lubricant through the plurality of elongate main structural members, where each of the plurality of elongate main structural members includes a fluid conduit formed at least partially therethrough along a longitudinal axis thereof and each fluid conduit is in fluid communication with the fluid conduit of at least one other member of the plurality of elongate main structural members in the subsea supporting frame structure; removing heat energy from the dielectric lubricant circulating through the plurality of elongate main structural members by transferring the heat energy in the dielectric lubricant to seawater flowing through the subsea supporting frame structure and across outer surfaces of the plurality of elongate main structural members to thereby reduce the temperature of the dielectric lubricant; and circulating the dielectric lubricant from an outlet port of the at least one of the plurality of elongate main structural members of the subsea supporting frame structure to the motor dielectric lubricant inlet port.