Patent ID: 7059345

Claim:
An apparatus for boosting pressure in a flowline, comprising: a bypass valve adapted to be connected into flowline; a housing; an inlet conduit adapted to connect an interior of the housing to the flowline upstream of the bypass valve; an inlet valve in the inlet conduit; a pump assembly comprising an electrical motor located entirely within the housing and a centrifugal pump, the pump having an intake within the housing that is in fluid communication with the inlet conduit and a discharge tube adapted to be in fluid communication with the flowline downstream of the bypass valve; an outlet valve for selectively isolating the discharge tube from the flowline downstream of the bypass valve, wherein when the bypass valve is closed, the inlet and outlet valves opened and the pump assembly operating, the pump assembly boosts pressure of fluid flowing into the interior of the housing, and when the bypass valve is opened and the inlet and outlet valves closed, fluid may flow through the flowline while the pump assembly is removed for repair or replacement; and wherein the housing is cylindrical, has an opening on one end, and further comprises: a removable end cap on the exterior of and closing the opening of the housing, the opening having a diameter larger than a diameter of the pump and the motor, so that removing the end cap enables the pump assembly to be inserted into and withdrawn from the housing through the opening.