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- Gas

Solutions
IncreasesPOSEIDON
production of oil
wellsHandling
with high gas
cut.

for

the Ultra High Gas ESP Market


The Poseidon system is a multiphase,
axial flow gas-handling device installed
below the main production pump to
allow the production pump to efficiently
handle higher percentages of free gas.
The system can be installed either above
a gas separator when gas can be vented
into the casing, or it can be installed
above a standard intake if all the
produced gas has to go through the
pump. In many wells with high gas
volume, the Poseidon system can
increase production and extend the use
of submersible pumps in gassy oil wells
where production is limited by the
centrifugal pumps ability to handle gas.
Centrifugal pumps are mainly designed to
handle fluid and will suffer from a head
degradation and gas locking in the
presence of high percentages of free gas.
The Poseidon gas handling system is
designed to improve stability in gassy
wells, provide better slug handling in
horizontal wells, increase the production
rate and recovered reserves, and
increase electrical submersible pump
effectiveness. It can also be used in wells
with nonvented packers typically found
in subsea and offshore completions.

System development
Institut Francais du Petrole (IFP), Total
and Statoil, developed the Poseidon as
the next step in the historical evolution
of advanced gas handling. Understanding
the limitation of electrical submersible
pumps in gassy wells fields, Schlumberger
uses the Poseidon system to enhance
production in oil wells experiencing gas
locking problems.

Current gas handling systems rely on


centrifugal force to transfer energy to
the liquid/gas mixture. If there is a high
percentage of free gas in the vanes, the
liquid and gas will separate and the energy
transfer efficiency will decrease. When
enough gas accumulates, the pump gas
locks and prevents fluid movement.
The Poseidon gas handling system is a
multiphase helicoaxial pump installed
between the intake (or gas separator)
and the pump. The specially designed
axial flow stages prime the main
production pump and push the gas liquid flow stream into the stages. Gas
volume is reduced though the Poseidon
by compression. Laboratory tests and
field trials have shown that the Poseidon
system can successfully operate in the
Ultra high gas ESP market with gas
volume factors (GVF) up to 75%, far
exceeding the 40 to 45% GVF limitations
of existing gas-handling devices.
Because of its special design, the
Poseidon axial flow stage has a more
efficient energy transfer, resulting in
trouble-free operation at high GVF. The
Poseidon system maintains a high
boosting pressure with increasing
amounts of gas fraction and handles up
to 75% free gas without experiencing
gas locking.
Incremental oil production with a Poseidon system compared
with oil production from conventional gas-handling equipment.

Poseidon system
Oil
Production

Conventional
gas handling
system

Time

Variable speed drives

REDA Pump performance curve

Sine wave Variable Speed Drive

A variable speed drive (VSD) is


recommended as the surface control
package in all wells with high gas
volumes. A VSD provides pump
operational flexibility with respect to
flow rate and total dynamic head
generation. Another key benefit is the
ability to control and manage the startup
and initial production, enabling the
operator to limit gas slugging and
maintain completion integrity to prevent
sand production. The Schlumberger sine
wave VSD combines a built-in filter with
superior pulsed width modulation
technology, providing near-sinusoidal
current and voltage waveforms to the
ESP motor.

Downhole monitoring

System shutdown on winding temperature after prolonged gas slug.

In addition to a sine wave VSD, all


submersible pumps for high gas-fraction
environments should be equipped with a
downhole monitoring tool. The primary
means of equipment protection, a
monitoring tool delivers valuable
operational and production data.
Schlumberger offers multisensor tools
that monitor pump intake and discharge
pressures, wellbore temperature, internal
motor winding temperature, current
leakage, and vibration. Instead of shutting
down from current underload control,
multisensors allow the primary
protection to be motor winding
temperature, providing the best
opportunity to ride through slugging
gas conditions.

www.slb.com/oilfield
AL_04_016_0

Schlumberger

April 2004

INCONEL is a trademark of Inco Alloys International, Inc.


Poseidon is a mark of Institut Franais du Ptrole (IFP), Total,
and Statoil; technology licensed to Schlumberger.

Gas Solutions Technology for


Submersible Pump Applications
Efficiently produce
high GOR wells with
submersible pumps

Shrouded submersible pump

Applications

Oil-producing wells with


nonvented packers

Gas lift for wells converted to


electrical submersible
pumps (ESPs)

Dual-liftgas lift and ESP wells

Subsea oil wells

Benefits

Improved production and field


life from maximized drawdown

Fewer shutdowns due to


gas locks

Extended pump run life

Longer installation run life with


stabilized motor current

Extreme differences in the densities of


liquids and gases create a low-pressure
area in the impeller eye, resulting in gas
accumulation. Free gas in the stage
impellers displaces liquid and restricts
the volumetric efficiency of the pump.
The accumulation of free gas results in
lower lift per stage and a decline in
expected production.
Without technology to prevent
excessive gas accumulation, either gas
interference or gas lock will occur.
Gas interference is a partial blockage
of the impeller flow path, resulting in
degraded pump performance and low
production. Gas lock is complete
blockage of the flow path and requires a
shutdown of the pump. Gas and gas lock
can be detected by pressure fluctuations
measured by a downhole sensor or by
erratic current fluctuations from an amp
chart.

Centrifugal gas handlers


capable of intake gas volume
fraction (GVF) of 45% at low
pump intake pressures

Poseidon multiphase pump


systems capable of intake
GVF of 75%

Abrasion-resistant construction

Shrouded ESP

Gas Interference
Sunday

Approaches to minimize gas effects


y
da
on
M

There are three basic methods to minimize


the amount of gas entering the pump: gas
avoidance, gas separation, and gas
handling.
Tuesday

Gas Lock Shutdown

Gas separation
Natural gas separation occurs because of
the differences in density and buoyancy
between the gas and the liquid phases.
Many factors make estimation of natural
gas separation efficiency difficult.
Factors impacting natural and
mechanical separation include casing and
equipment size, free gas volume
percentage, pump intake pressure and
temperature, hydrocarbon composition,
bubblepoint pressure, casing pressure,
flow rate, obstructions and restrictions,
and operating frequency.

Mechanical gas separators

Ammeter chart depicting gas interference

Sa
tur
da
y

Friday

Vortex gas separators capable


of greater than 90% separation
efficiency

Perforations

How does gas affect ESPs?

Features

Gas can also be avoided by using an


eccentric weighted outer sleeve to
provide a self-orientating intake with inlet
ports at the lower side of the casing
annulus. These intakes are designed for
highly deviated and horizontal wells. The
gas phase flows past the top of the device
and the heavier liquid phase flows into
the inlet ports and into the pump or other
gas-handling device. This system can also
be installed below the ESP on a tailpipe
connected to a shroud.

The application of ESPs has grown


rapidly in recent years, often pushing the
technology envelope for higher
temperatures, pressures, abrasives, and
gas content. Wells are routinely produced
below bubblepoint pressure to maximize
drawdown and increase total
hydrocarbon production. The higher
drawdowns require the pumping system
to handle significant volumes of gas.
And, with advances in gas handling
technology, wells with high gas volumes,
once considered "too gassy" for ESPs, are
now being pumped successfully.

Thu
rsd
ay

Oil-producing wells with high


gas cut

Why is gas a problem?

y
sda
dne
We

Vortex Gas Separator

Gas avoidance
Shrouded systems placed below
perforations enhance natural separation
and reduce free gas at the pump. These
systems usually require smallerdiameter ESP systems and may limit
production.

These separators are either static or


dynamic devices.
Static gas separators are designed to
keep free gas from entering the pump
without applying additional mechanical
force. The basic principle of operation is
provision of a tortuous path requiring the
fluid stream to turn and move down
toward the inlet ports. Some of the free
gas accompanies the liquid to the
intake, and a portion separates. Static
separators are used for small amounts
of free gas; their overall separation
efficiency is limited.
Dynamic gas separators impart energy
to the fluid to facilitate separation of
vapor from the liquid.
Vortex-style gas separators use a
natural vortex action created by a special
inlet configuration, axial flow inducer,
propeller, retention chamber, and
discharge crossover. These separators
provide efficiency over a broader flow
range than rotary separators.

Schlumberger vortex separators use


abrasion-resistant bearing technology
to enhance reliability in sandy and
abrasive conditions. To further extend
life expectancy, the separator imparts
very little energy to the solid particles
produced through it.
These separators have a hydraulic
design that uses advanced
computational fluid dynamics and
solids modeling technology. The
improved hydraulics enable more
effective gas separation at higher fluid
flow rates than previously possible.

Gas handling solutions


Gas handling solutions for ESP
operations fall into two groups:
centrifugal gas handlers for GVF to 45%
at low intake pressures, and axial flow
technology for GVF to 75%.
The Schlumberger Advanced Gas
Handler (AGH) improves the overall lift
efficiency of a submergible lift
installation by maintaining a higher
gas/liquid ratio in the tubing string. The
higher GVF will reduce the hydraulic
horsepower required to lift oil in a well
producing oil, water, and gas.
The AGH centrifugal stage design alters
the pressure distribution of the impeller,
creating a homogenized mixture with a
smaller gas bubble. This conditioned fluid
behaves as a single-phase fluid before
entering the pump.

Proven field results50% production


increase
A well in Europe was plagued with gas
locking, and its production was limited to
800 BPD [925 cf/STB gas/oil ratio]. An
AGH was installed, but all other
downhole equipment remained the same.
Production increased 1,250 BPD and the
gas locking was eliminated. Free gas
produced through the pump was 23%. In
addition to increased production,
elimination of cycling extended the
equipments expected run life.

Advanced Gas Handler

- Gas
Solutions
IncreasesPOSEIDON
production of oil
wellsHandling
with high gas
cut.

for

the Ultra High Gas ESP Market


The Poseidon system is a multiphase,
axial flow gas-handling device installed
below the main production pump to
allow the production pump to efficiently
handle higher percentages of free gas.
The system can be installed either above
a gas separator when gas can be vented
into the casing, or it can be installed
above a standard intake if all the
produced gas has to go through the
pump. In many wells with high gas
volume, the Poseidon system can
increase production and extend the use
of submersible pumps in gassy oil wells
where production is limited by the
centrifugal pumps ability to handle gas.
Centrifugal pumps are mainly designed to
handle fluid and will suffer from a head
degradation and gas locking in the
presence of high percentages of free gas.
The Poseidon gas handling system is
designed to improve stability in gassy
wells, provide better slug handling in
horizontal wells, increase the production
rate and recovered reserves, and
increase electrical submersible pump
effectiveness. It can also be used in wells
with nonvented packers typically found
in subsea and offshore completions.

System development
Institut Francais du Petrole (IFP), Total
and Statoil, developed the Poseidon as
the next step in the historical evolution
of advanced gas handling. Understanding
the limitation of electrical submersible
pumps in gassy wells fields, Schlumberger
uses the Poseidon system to enhance
production in oil wells experiencing gas
locking problems.

Current gas handling systems rely on


centrifugal force to transfer energy to
the liquid/gas mixture. If there is a high
percentage of free gas in the vanes, the
liquid and gas will separate and the energy
transfer efficiency will decrease. When
enough gas accumulates, the pump gas
locks and prevents fluid movement.
The Poseidon gas handling system is a
multiphase helicoaxial pump installed
between the intake (or gas separator)
and the pump. The specially designed
axial flow stages prime the main
production pump and push the gas liquid flow stream into the stages. Gas
volume is reduced though the Poseidon
by compression. Laboratory tests and
field trials have shown that the Poseidon
system can successfully operate in the
Ultra high gas ESP market with gas
volume factors (GVF) up to 75%, far
exceeding the 40 to 45% GVF limitations
of existing gas-handling devices.
Because of its special design, the
Poseidon axial flow stage has a more
efficient energy transfer, resulting in
trouble-free operation at high GVF. The
Poseidon system maintains a high
boosting pressure with increasing
amounts of gas fraction and handles up
to 75% free gas without experiencing
gas locking.
Incremental oil production with a Poseidon system compared
with oil production from conventional gas-handling equipment.

Poseidon system
Oil
Production

Conventional
gas handling
system

Time

Variable speed drives

REDA Pump performance curve

Sine wave Variable Speed Drive

A variable speed drive (VSD) is


recommended as the surface control
package in all wells with high gas
volumes. A VSD provides pump
operational flexibility with respect to
flow rate and total dynamic head
generation. Another key benefit is the
ability to control and manage the startup
and initial production, enabling the
operator to limit gas slugging and
maintain completion integrity to prevent
sand production. The Schlumberger sine
wave VSD combines a built-in filter with
superior pulsed width modulation
technology, providing near-sinusoidal
current and voltage waveforms to the
ESP motor.

Downhole monitoring

System shutdown on winding temperature after prolonged gas slug.

In addition to a sine wave VSD, all


submersible pumps for high gas-fraction
environments should be equipped with a
downhole monitoring tool. The primary
means of equipment protection, a
monitoring tool delivers valuable
operational and production data.
Schlumberger offers multisensor tools
that monitor pump intake and discharge
pressures, wellbore temperature, internal
motor winding temperature, current
leakage, and vibration. Instead of shutting
down from current underload control,
multisensors allow the primary
protection to be motor winding
temperature, providing the best
opportunity to ride through slugging
gas conditions.

www.slb.com/oilfield
AL_04_016_0

Schlumberger

April 2004

INCONEL is a trademark of Inco Alloys International, Inc.


Poseidon is a mark of Institut Franais du Ptrole (IFP), Total,
and Statoil; technology licensed to Schlumberger.

Gas Solutions Technology for


Submersible Pump Applications
Efficiently produce
high GOR wells with
submersible pumps

Shrouded submersible pump

Applications

Oil-producing wells with


nonvented packers

Gas lift for wells converted to


electrical submersible
pumps (ESPs)

Dual-liftgas lift and ESP wells

Subsea oil wells

Benefits

Improved production and field


life from maximized drawdown

Fewer shutdowns due to


gas locks

Extended pump run life

Longer installation run life with


stabilized motor current

Extreme differences in the densities of


liquids and gases create a low-pressure
area in the impeller eye, resulting in gas
accumulation. Free gas in the stage
impellers displaces liquid and restricts
the volumetric efficiency of the pump.
The accumulation of free gas results in
lower lift per stage and a decline in
expected production.
Without technology to prevent
excessive gas accumulation, either gas
interference or gas lock will occur.
Gas interference is a partial blockage
of the impeller flow path, resulting in
degraded pump performance and low
production. Gas lock is complete
blockage of the flow path and requires a
shutdown of the pump. Gas and gas lock
can be detected by pressure fluctuations
measured by a downhole sensor or by
erratic current fluctuations from an amp
chart.

Centrifugal gas handlers


capable of intake gas volume
fraction (GVF) of 45% at low
pump intake pressures

Poseidon multiphase pump


systems capable of intake
GVF of 75%

Abrasion-resistant construction

Shrouded ESP

Gas Interference
Sunday

Approaches to minimize gas effects


y
da
on
M

There are three basic methods to minimize


the amount of gas entering the pump: gas
avoidance, gas separation, and gas
handling.
Tuesday

Gas Lock Shutdown

Gas separation
Natural gas separation occurs because of
the differences in density and buoyancy
between the gas and the liquid phases.
Many factors make estimation of natural
gas separation efficiency difficult.
Factors impacting natural and
mechanical separation include casing and
equipment size, free gas volume
percentage, pump intake pressure and
temperature, hydrocarbon composition,
bubblepoint pressure, casing pressure,
flow rate, obstructions and restrictions,
and operating frequency.

Mechanical gas separators

Ammeter chart depicting gas interference

Sa
tur
da
y

Friday

Vortex gas separators capable


of greater than 90% separation
efficiency

Perforations

How does gas affect ESPs?

Features

Gas can also be avoided by using an


eccentric weighted outer sleeve to
provide a self-orientating intake with inlet
ports at the lower side of the casing
annulus. These intakes are designed for
highly deviated and horizontal wells. The
gas phase flows past the top of the device
and the heavier liquid phase flows into
the inlet ports and into the pump or other
gas-handling device. This system can also
be installed below the ESP on a tailpipe
connected to a shroud.

The application of ESPs has grown


rapidly in recent years, often pushing the
technology envelope for higher
temperatures, pressures, abrasives, and
gas content. Wells are routinely produced
below bubblepoint pressure to maximize
drawdown and increase total
hydrocarbon production. The higher
drawdowns require the pumping system
to handle significant volumes of gas.
And, with advances in gas handling
technology, wells with high gas volumes,
once considered "too gassy" for ESPs, are
now being pumped successfully.

Thu
rsd
ay

Oil-producing wells with high


gas cut

Why is gas a problem?

y
sda
dne
We

Vortex Gas Separator

Gas avoidance
Shrouded systems placed below
perforations enhance natural separation
and reduce free gas at the pump. These
systems usually require smallerdiameter ESP systems and may limit
production.

These separators are either static or


dynamic devices.
Static gas separators are designed to
keep free gas from entering the pump
without applying additional mechanical
force. The basic principle of operation is
provision of a tortuous path requiring the
fluid stream to turn and move down
toward the inlet ports. Some of the free
gas accompanies the liquid to the
intake, and a portion separates. Static
separators are used for small amounts
of free gas; their overall separation
efficiency is limited.
Dynamic gas separators impart energy
to the fluid to facilitate separation of
vapor from the liquid.
Vortex-style gas separators use a
natural vortex action created by a special
inlet configuration, axial flow inducer,
propeller, retention chamber, and
discharge crossover. These separators
provide efficiency over a broader flow
range than rotary separators.

Schlumberger vortex separators use


abrasion-resistant bearing technology
to enhance reliability in sandy and
abrasive conditions. To further extend
life expectancy, the separator imparts
very little energy to the solid particles
produced through it.
These separators have a hydraulic
design that uses advanced
computational fluid dynamics and
solids modeling technology. The
improved hydraulics enable more
effective gas separation at higher fluid
flow rates than previously possible.

Gas handling solutions


Gas handling solutions for ESP
operations fall into two groups:
centrifugal gas handlers for GVF to 45%
at low intake pressures, and axial flow
technology for GVF to 75%.
The Schlumberger Advanced Gas
Handler (AGH) improves the overall lift
efficiency of a submergible lift
installation by maintaining a higher
gas/liquid ratio in the tubing string. The
higher GVF will reduce the hydraulic
horsepower required to lift oil in a well
producing oil, water, and gas.
The AGH centrifugal stage design alters
the pressure distribution of the impeller,
creating a homogenized mixture with a
smaller gas bubble. This conditioned fluid
behaves as a single-phase fluid before
entering the pump.

Proven field results50% production


increase
A well in Europe was plagued with gas
locking, and its production was limited to
800 BPD [925 cf/STB gas/oil ratio]. An
AGH was installed, but all other
downhole equipment remained the same.
Production increased 1,250 BPD and the
gas locking was eliminated. Free gas
produced through the pump was 23%. In
addition to increased production,
elimination of cycling extended the
equipments expected run life.

Advanced Gas Handler

- Gas
Solutions
IncreasesPOSEIDON
production of oil
wellsHandling
with high gas
cut.

for

the Ultra High Gas ESP Market


The Poseidon system is a multiphase,
axial flow gas-handling device installed
below the main production pump to
allow the production pump to efficiently
handle higher percentages of free gas.
The system can be installed either above
a gas separator when gas can be vented
into the casing, or it can be installed
above a standard intake if all the
produced gas has to go through the
pump. In many wells with high gas
volume, the Poseidon system can
increase production and extend the use
of submersible pumps in gassy oil wells
where production is limited by the
centrifugal pumps ability to handle gas.
Centrifugal pumps are mainly designed to
handle fluid and will suffer from a head
degradation and gas locking in the
presence of high percentages of free gas.
The Poseidon gas handling system is
designed to improve stability in gassy
wells, provide better slug handling in
horizontal wells, increase the production
rate and recovered reserves, and
increase electrical submersible pump
effectiveness. It can also be used in wells
with nonvented packers typically found
in subsea and offshore completions.

System development
Institut Francais du Petrole (IFP), Total
and Statoil, developed the Poseidon as
the next step in the historical evolution
of advanced gas handling. Understanding
the limitation of electrical submersible
pumps in gassy wells fields, Schlumberger
uses the Poseidon system to enhance
production in oil wells experiencing gas
locking problems.

Current gas handling systems rely on


centrifugal force to transfer energy to
the liquid/gas mixture. If there is a high
percentage of free gas in the vanes, the
liquid and gas will separate and the energy
transfer efficiency will decrease. When
enough gas accumulates, the pump gas
locks and prevents fluid movement.
The Poseidon gas handling system is a
multiphase helicoaxial pump installed
between the intake (or gas separator)
and the pump. The specially designed
axial flow stages prime the main
production pump and push the gas liquid flow stream into the stages. Gas
volume is reduced though the Poseidon
by compression. Laboratory tests and
field trials have shown that the Poseidon
system can successfully operate in the
Ultra high gas ESP market with gas
volume factors (GVF) up to 75%, far
exceeding the 40 to 45% GVF limitations
of existing gas-handling devices.
Because of its special design, the
Poseidon axial flow stage has a more
efficient energy transfer, resulting in
trouble-free operation at high GVF. The
Poseidon system maintains a high
boosting pressure with increasing
amounts of gas fraction and handles up
to 75% free gas without experiencing
gas locking.
Incremental oil production with a Poseidon system compared
with oil production from conventional gas-handling equipment.

Poseidon system
Oil
Production

Conventional
gas handling
system

Time

Variable speed drives

REDA Pump performance curve

Sine wave Variable Speed Drive

A variable speed drive (VSD) is


recommended as the surface control
package in all wells with high gas
volumes. A VSD provides pump
operational flexibility with respect to
flow rate and total dynamic head
generation. Another key benefit is the
ability to control and manage the startup
and initial production, enabling the
operator to limit gas slugging and
maintain completion integrity to prevent
sand production. The Schlumberger sine
wave VSD combines a built-in filter with
superior pulsed width modulation
technology, providing near-sinusoidal
current and voltage waveforms to the
ESP motor.

Downhole monitoring

System shutdown on winding temperature after prolonged gas slug.

In addition to a sine wave VSD, all


submersible pumps for high gas-fraction
environments should be equipped with a
downhole monitoring tool. The primary
means of equipment protection, a
monitoring tool delivers valuable
operational and production data.
Schlumberger offers multisensor tools
that monitor pump intake and discharge
pressures, wellbore temperature, internal
motor winding temperature, current
leakage, and vibration. Instead of shutting
down from current underload control,
multisensors allow the primary
protection to be motor winding
temperature, providing the best
opportunity to ride through slugging
gas conditions.

www.slb.com/oilfield
AL_04_016_0

Schlumberger

April 2004

INCONEL is a trademark of Inco Alloys International, Inc.


Poseidon is a mark of Institut Franais du Ptrole (IFP), Total,
and Statoil; technology licensed to Schlumberger.

Gas Solutions Technology for


Submersible Pump Applications
Efficiently produce
high GOR wells with
submersible pumps

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