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Artificial Lift for High-Volume Production

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Artificial Lift for High-Volume Production Artificial Lift for High-Volume Production Rod pumps bring oil to surface in many fields, but for better flow rates more than 100,000 wells use subsurface electric pumps or inject external gas to lighten the fluid column. Specialized approaches are needed to optimize existing gas-lift or submersible systems and to design new installations for more complex applications. Roy Fleshman Less than a fourth of producing oil wells flow nat- but there is overlap between systems depending Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA urally. When a reservoir lacks sufficient energy on subsurface conditions, fluid types, required for oil, gas and water to flow from wells at rates, well inclination angles, depths, comple- Harryson desired rates, supplemental production methods tion configurations, lift-system hardware and Obren Lekic can help. Gas and water injection for pressure surface facilities. Houston, Texas, USA support or secondary recovery maintain well pro- Lift optimization to get the most fluid from a ductivity, but artificial lift is needed when reser- well or field at the lowest cost offers opportuni- voir drives do not sustain acceptable rates or ties for substantial production gains in new wells cause fluids to flow at all in some cases. Lift pro- or mature fields. When selecting and designing cesses transfer energy downhole or decrease lift systems, engineers must consider reservoir fluid density in wellbores to reduce the hydro- and well parameters, but field development static load on formations, so that available reser- strategies should be factored in as well. voir energy causes inflow, and commercial Artificial-lift selection is specialized and often For help in preparation of this article, thanks to Rick Bailey hydrocarbon volumes can be boosted or displaced tedious, but guidelines provide the relative appli- and Duane Russell, Reda, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA; to surface. Artificial lift also improves recovery by cability of each method (previous page).1 James Garner, Camco Products & Services, Houston, Texas, USA; Peter Schrenkel, Reda, Dallas, Texas; and Dave Bergt, reducing the bottomhole pressure at which wells Artificial-lift technology is well established, Schlumberger Oilfield Services, Sugar Land, Texas. become uneconomic and are abandoned. but new developments continue to play a role in NODAL is a mark of Schlumberger. AGH (Advanced Gas Because reservoir pressure declines and solving problems and meeting production chal- Handler), CDPS (Cable Deployed Pumping System) and HOTLINE are marks of Reda. Camco EOR (Engineering more water is produced late in field life, artificial lenges. Recent improvements reduce lifting costs Optimization Resources) is a mark of Camco Products & lift is generally associated with mature oil and through system components that resist hostile Services. Camco Products & Services and Reda are Schlumberger companies. gas developments. However, driven by activity in environments, optimize power usage and improve 1. Brown KE: The Technology of Artificial Lift Methods, vol. deep water and areas that require construction reliability. Alternative means of deploying lift 2A. Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA: PennWell Books, Inc., 1980. of complex wells, the mature state of hydrocar- systems allow profitable production from previ- bon exploitation worldwide has increased ously uneconomic wells or fields. Traditional arti- demand for high lifting rates to produce oil ficial-lift limits are expanded by using more than < Artificial-lift selection. Making artificial-lift decisions is primarily a process of choosing the quickly and efficiently at low cost. Offshore and one lift method in the same well, such as gas lift lift methods most applicable to expected sur- in difficult international regions, artificial-lift or jet pumps combined with electric submersible face, reservoir, production, fluid and operational techniques accelerate cash flow, generate profits pumps and progressing cavity pumps driven by conditions. This table provides applicability sooner and help operators realize better returns, electric submersible motors. This article reviews values and selection criteria or conditions for the basic forms of artificial lift. To choose a even in wells that flow naturally. basic lift systems, discusses high-volume artifi- method that meets production requirements, Rod pump, gas lift and electric submersible cial lift and presents selection, design and opti- select the range that applies—good to excellent pumps are the most common artificial-lift mization strategies along with new gas-lift and (1), fair to good (2) and not recommended or poor (3)—for key criteria, tally these values and weigh systems, but hydraulic and progressing cavity submersible technology. the results. pumps are also used. Each is suited to certain lifting requirements and operational objectives, Spring 1999 49 Basic System Descriptions bined in an integral assembly run inside tubing [305 to 5486 m] and produce rates from 100 to The four basic subsurface artificial-lift groups on rods. Insert pumps can be retrieved and 10,000 B/D [16 to 1590 m3/d] or more. Many include rod or progressing cavity displacement repaired or replaced without disturbing the pro- hydraulic installations produce 150 to 300 B/D pumps; jet, piston, turbine or plunger hydraulic duction tubing by just pulling the rods. [24 to 48 m3/d] from deeper than 12,000 ft pumps; gas lift; and electric submersible cen- Fluids are pulled into pump barrels by close- [3658 m]. Heavy, viscous crudes are often easier trifugal pumps.2 fitting plungers with check valves to displace to produce after mixing with lighter power fluids. Rod pumps combine a cylinder (barrel) and fluid into the tubing. Standing, or intake, valves Because pumps can be circulated out, systems piston (plunger) with valves to transfer well fluids consist of a stationary ball-and-seat. The dis- can be modified for changing conditions. into the tubing and displace them to surface. charge, or traveling valve, moves during each Gas lift uses additional high-pressure gas to These pumps are connected to surface by a metal reciprocating pump cycle. Rod pumps are simple, supplement formation gas. Produced fluids are rod string inside the tubing and operated by familiar to most operators and used widely. lifted by reducing fluid density in wellbores to reciprocating surface beam units, or pumping However, rod pump capacity, or volumetric effi- lighten the hydrostatic column, or backpressure, jacks, that are powered by a prime mover—elec- ciency, is limited in wells with high gas/liquid load on formations. Primary criteria for this tric or gas motors—(below). There are two types ratios, small tubing diameters or deep producing method are gas availability and compression of linear-displacement rod pumps. Tubing pumps intervals. Other disadvantages are a large surface costs. Most gas-lift wells produce by continuous have a fullbore barrel with standing valve and are footprint (space requirement), high capital invest- injection, which is the only lift method that fully attached to the end of the tubing. A plunger, or ment and potential wellhead leaks or spills. utilizes formation gas energy (next page, top traveling valve, is run into this barrel on the rods. Progressing cavity pumps are based on rotary right). External gas, injected into special gas-lift Tubing must be pulled to repair or replace tubing fluid displacement. This spiral system consists of valves at specific design depths, mixes with pro- pumps. Smaller insert pumps consist of a barrel, a rotor turning eccentrically inside a stationary duced fluids and decreases the pressure gradient intake valve, plunger and discharge valve com- stator (next page, top left). The rotor is a small- from the point of injection to surface. Bottomhole diameter screw with deep round threads and pressure is reduced to provide a differential, or Prime mover Beam pumping unit extremely long pitch—distance between thread pressure drawdown, for required flow rates. If peaks. The stator has one more thread and longer drawdown is insufficient, instantaneous high- pitch than the rotor, which forms cavities that volume injection, or intermittent gas lift, can be progress in a rotating motion to create almost used to displace slugs of liquid to surface. The pulsation-free linear flow. Like rod pumps, the on-off nature of this option causes surface gas- rotor is generally turned by rods connected to a handling problems as well as surges downhole surface motor. New rodless installations use sub- that may result in sand production. Casing surface electric motors and a speed-reducing Gas lift is flexible and adjustable. Slickline- gearbox to turn the rotor. retrievable gas-lift valves can be pulled and Tubing In most cases, progressing cavity pumps are replaced without disturbing tubing if designs or flexible, reliable, resistant to abrasive solids and system performance need to be changed. Costs Rods volumetrically efficient. Use of small motors vary depending on gas source and pressure, but results in efficient power usage and low lifting can be high if additional surface compressors costs. Compared to rod pumps, progressing and processing facilities are needed. Gas-lift Tubing pump Insert pump cavity pumps last longer and have fewer rod or installations handle abrasive materials like sand tubing failures because of slower operating and can be used in low-productivity, high gas/oil speeds. Capital costs are typically less than other ratio (GOR) wells or deviated wellbores. Natural artificial-lift methods. Progressing cavity pumps gas shortages limit or
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