Colfax Corporation, a global leader in fluid-handling solutions, is doing its part to lower the cost of transporting petroleum. At the 2008 Global Petroleum Show, the Richmond-based company unveiled a new line of "rotary positive displacement screw pumps" for handling high- and low-viscosity fluids that require high pressure boosts in the transport of crude oil.

"Rotary pumps have been the standard in delivering high-efficiency, low-maintenance solutions for critical fluid handling in the past," said CEO John A. Young in a press release. "But the perception that screw pumps mean higher expense is simply outdated, preventing oil transport companies from taking full advantage of their significant benefits for energy savings and reduced environmental impact in these applications."

Rotary PD screw pumps offer tremendous cost advantages, Young said. "A typical Colfax solution on a single 250,000 BPD crude oil pumping station in Western Canada ... delivers a 29 percent reduction in combined capital, energy and maintenance costs over a five-year period, when compared to the traditional centrifugal pump solution." That translates into more than $7 million in savings to own and operate a rotary PD screw pump solution over five years.

Colfax also has developed shaft-sealing solutions to address market demand for reduced process fluid emissions.

Said Keith Schafer, vice president of sales and marketing for Colfax Americas: "We help our crude oil transport customers – and ideally the Oil & Gas industry at large – balance reliable and efficient performance, fiscal responsibility and environmental stewardship with fluid-handling solutions that improve business and grow the bottom line."