1. Honest scope: where FB Bombas operates in the O&G chain
Before detailing technology, clarity matters. Oil and gas is a sector with very distinct subsectors in technical requirements, and no manufacturer serves all with equal depth. FB Bombas has documented industrial track record in midstream (port terminals, tank farms, onshore transfer pipelines) and downstream (refineries, downstream petrochemicals, NFPA-20 fire systems, process thermal oil).
We do not serve offshore-upstream subsea — equipment for BOP, subsea manifolds, FPSO production headers or well water injection systems — due to lack of consolidated track record in this specific subsector.
This honesty serves two purposes. First, it respects project engineering time: specifiers sizing an offshore platform need to know which supplier to focus on and which to discard early. Second, it builds trust in fronts where we effectively deliver — nameable midstream/downstream clients include Petrobras (via CRCC homologation and refinery pump supply), Vibra Energia, Ipiranga and Dislub Equatorial.
2. Midstream: transfer in terminals and tank farms
Port terminals and tank farms move high volumes of petroleum products — diesel, gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, asphalt, lubricants, BPF and chemicals. Typical operation involves loading and unloading ships, inter-tank transfer and dispatch to tank trucks. Pump requirements vary strongly per product.
- Diesel, gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel: low viscosity (1-5 cSt), FBCN centrifugal pump with API 682 plan 11 or 13 mechanical seal
- Heavy fuel oil: medium viscosity (200-1,000 SSU), FBE external gear with steam tracing on lines
- CAP asphalt and bitumen: extreme viscosity (2,500-50,000 SSU) + temperature 150-200°C, FBE-CA with integrated heating jacket
- Finished lubricants: variable viscosity (50-1,500 SSU per grade), FBE or FBEI with upstream filtration
- BPF (bunker fuel oil): high viscosity (500-5,000 SSU), FBE with balanced mechanical seal for hot fluids
3. Downstream: pumps in refinery processes
An oil refinery is a plant with dozens of chained process units — atmospheric distillation, vacuum distillation, catalytic cracking (FCC), reforming, hydrotreating, alkylation, isomerization, coking, sulfur recovery, gas treatment. Each unit has dozens of pumps with distinct requirements: tower bottom pump, reflux pump, side-cut pump, charge pump, product pump, sour water pump, caustic pump.
For atmospheric distillation tower bottom, where product is residual oil at 350-380°C, standard technology is API 610 BB1 or BB2 centrifugal (between-bearings pump with axially split casing) with carbon steel ASTM A216 WCB body materials, SAE 4140 heat-treated shaft, and API 682 plan 23 mechanical seal (externally cooled). FB Bombas serves this specification via FBOT in the externally-isolated-bearing variant for sustained high-temperature service.
4. Refinery fire system — NFPA-20
Refineries are extreme-risk facilities — large-scale flammable products, high temperatures, pressurized equipment. The fire protection system follows NFPA-20 (Standard for the Installation of Stationary Pumps for Fire Protection) and locally NBR 16704. Typically involves three pumps in redundant arrangement: an electric main pump (electrical drive, design flow and pressure), a diesel backup pump (diesel motor drive, same hydraulic characteristics, starts on electrical failure) and a jockey pump (small, maintains system pressure).
FB Bombas supplies the complete FBFS system — electric and diesel pumps on a pre-mounted skid, automatic control panel with NFPA-20 logic, valves, instrumentation, gauges, Fire Pump Controller cabinet per NFPA 20. The system is manufactured, assembled and tested in Cabreúva-SP, Brazil, transported to the plant and commissioned on site. NBR 16704 homologation typically covers Brazilian installations.
5. Thermal oil in refining processes
Several refinery process units use thermal oil (Therminol, Mobiltherm or Dowtherm) as intermediate heating fluid between the thermal fluid boiler and reboilers, heat exchangers and tank heaters. Thermal oil typically operates at 200-350°C at moderate pressure (5-15 bar). The circuit pump is thermally isolated centrifugal — exactly what FB Bombas' FBOT line solves, with externally air- or water-cooled bearings and thermal spacer between casing and bearings.
6. Materials for sour service (H2S) — 316L and Duplex stainless
Pumps in sour service — where fluid contains hydrogen sulfide (H2S) above NACE MR0175 / ISO 15156 limits — require materials resistant to sulfide stress cracking (SSC). Standard materials for this service are 316L stainless steel (CF8M in ASTM nomenclature) with HRC 22 max hardness limit, duplex 2205 steel (or similar) for more aggressive service, or for extreme situations.
FB Bombas manufactures internals in all these materials via in-house CNC park in Cabreúva-SP, Brazil. The advantage of domestic manufacturing for these alloys is lead time — custom parts ship in 10-14 weeks, compared to 18-30 weeks typical of direct import.
7. Selection table FBE × FBCN × FBOT × FBFS by application
The table below crosses major refinery and terminal pumping applications with the recommended FB technology. It is a starting framework — final specification depends on duty point, available NPSH, temperature, applicable materials and seal arrangement.
| Application | Operating range | FB line |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel/gasoline/kerosene transfer | 1-5 cSt, ambient, low pressure | FBCN |
| Heavy fuel oil / BPF | 200-5,000 SSU, 50-100°C | FBE |
| CAP asphalt / bitumen | 2,500-50,000 SSU, 150-250°C | FBE-CA |
| Atmospheric tower bottom | Residual oil, 350-380°C, A216 WCB | FBOT |
| Distillation tower reflux | Light product, critical NPSH | FBCN API 610 BB1 |
| Sour water with H2S | 316L or NACE MR0175 | FBCN sour service |
| Process thermal oil | 200-350°C, 5-15 bar | FBOT |
| NFPA-20 fire system | Electric + diesel + jockey pump | FBFS complete system |
8. National alternative vs global suppliers (KSB, Sulzer, Flowserve)
KSB, Sulzer, Flowserve, Goulds (ITT) and Pentair dominate globally the API 610/676 refinery pump market — they are consolidated brands with broad track record on megaprojects and advanced technical architecture. When does it make sense to specify one of them? In projects where the EPC engineering team has prior familiarity, the final client requires a global-portfolio supplier, or the ultra-critical application admits no supply risk.
FB Bombas is specified when the equation considers lead time, local technical support and commercial flexibility in domestic currency.
We are Petrobras CRCC homologated (the same registry that validates global suppliers for Petrobras projects), comply with applicable technical standards (API 610 dimensionally, API 676, NFPA-20, NBR 16704 for testing), and offer a concrete operational advantage: spare parts ship from the Cabreúva-SP CNC park with 5-10 business day lead time for high-turnover items — drastically lower than the typical 8-24 weeks of import.
In a refinery, where an unplanned shutdown costs millions of dollars per day, this lead time difference becomes measurable TCO difference.
9. What we do NOT cover — offshore subsea
Reinforcing the honest scope from the opening: FB Bombas does not supply equipment for offshore-upstream subsea. We do not cover: subsea BOP (Blowout Preventer), manifolds and tree connectors, FPSO production headers, subsea multiphase pumps, well water injection systems (high-pressure water injection skids), high-pressure offshore booster pumps (>100 bar). For these applications, we recommend evaluating subsea-specialized suppliers — TechnipFMC, Baker Hughes, OneSubsea, Aker Solutions and similar manufacturers have the appropriate track record and consolidated subsea engineering.
Onshore downstream and midstream — refinery, terminal, tank farm, transfer pipeline, fire system, thermal oil — is where FB Bombas engineering delivers documented results. The clarity about what we do not do is part of what validates what we effectively do.
