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PROSS&CONSSOFARTIFICIALLIFTMETHO
ODS

DeffinitionoffArtificiallLift
Anyysystemthaataddsene
ergytotheffluidcolumninawellb
borewiththheobjective
eofinitiatin
ng
and
d improvingg productio
on from thee well. Artificial lift syystems usee a range of
o operatin
ng
prin
nciples,includingrodp
pumping,gaasliftandellectricalsub
bmersibleppumps.

How
wanOilW
WellisPro
oduced

D. Todorov

Oncceanoilor gasreservo
oirisdiscovveredandaassessed,prroductione ngineersbe
eginthetassk
ofm
maximizing theamoun
ntofoilorggasthatcan
nultimatelyyberecove redfromit.Oilandgaas
are contained inthepore
espacesof reservoirro
ock.Somerrocksmayaallowtheoilandgastto
movvefreely,m
makingiteaasiertoreccover.Otherreservoirssdonot paartwiththe
eoilandgaas
easily and require speciaal techniquees to move
e the oil or gas from tthe pore sp
paces in the
reseervoir rockk to a producing we ll. Even with todayss advancedd technologgy, in some
reseervoirs mo
ore than tw
wothirds oof the oil in the resservoir mayy not be recoverablee.
Resservoirs aree typically at
a elevated pressure because
b
of undergrouund forces. The drivin
ng
forcceinareseervoirisone
eoftwomaaintypes:w
waterdriveorgasdrivve(seebelo
ow).Awateer
drivvereservoirrisconnectedtoanacctivewateraquiferthatprovidestthedrivem
mechanism.A
gas drivereserrvoirderivesitsenergyyfromgas expansion;eitherfrom
magascaporfromgaas
breaking out of
o solution. Early in itts productio
on life, the undergrouund pressurre will often
pusshthehydro
ocarbonsallthewayuupthewellboretothe
esurface.D
Depending onreservoir
con
nditions,thisnaturalfflowmayccontinueformanyyears.Whenthhepressure
edifferentiaal
is in
nsufficient for the oil to flow nnaturally, some method of liftinng the liquids, such as
a
mecchanicalpumps,mustbeusedto bringtheoiltothesurrface.

Typ
pesofArtificialLift
Artiificialliftmeethodsfallintotwogrooups,those
ethatusepumpsandtthosethatu
usegas.

Pum
mpTypes
BeamP
Pumping/SSuckerRodPPumps(Rod
dLift)
ProgresssiveCavityPumps
SubsurffaceHydrau
ulicPumps
ElectriccSubmersib
blePumps

GasMethod
GasLift

BeamPumping/SuckerRodPumps(RodLift)

D. Todorov

Thistypeofartificialliftutilizesapositivedisplacementpumpthatisinsertedorsetinthe
tubingnearthebottomofthewell.Thepumpplungerisconnectedtosurfacebyalongrod
string, called sucker rods, and operated by a beam unit at surface. Each upstroke of the
beamunitliftstheoilabovethepumpsplunger.

RODLIFTSYSTEMADVANTAGES
Highsystemefficiency
Optimizationcontrolsavailable
Economicaltorepairandservice
Positivedisplacement/strongdrawdown
Upgradedmaterialscanreducecorrosionconcerns
Flexibilityadjustproductionthroughstrokelengthandspeed
Highsalvagevalueforsurfaceunitanddownholeequipment
Applicabletoslimholes,multiplecompletionsandhightemperatureandviscousoils

RODLIFTSYSTEMDISADVANTAGES
Limitedtorelativelylowproductionvolumes,lessthan1,000barrelsperday.
Excessivefrictionincrooked/deviatedholes
Solidsensitiveproblems
Bulkyingassywells
Limiteddepth
Bulkyinoffshoreoperations

ProgressingCavityPumps(PCPPumps)

Progressing Cavity Pumping (PCP) Systems typically consist of a surface drive, drive string
and downhole PC pump. The PC pump is comprised of a single helicalshaped rotor that
turnsinsideadoublehelicalelastomerlinedstator.Thestatorisattachedtotheproduction
tubingstringandremainsstationaryduringpumping.Inmostcasestherotorisattachedtoa
suckerrodstringwhichissuspendedandrotatedbythesurfacedrive.
As the rotor turns eccentrically in the stator, a series of sealed cavities form and progress
from the inlet to the discharge end of the pump. The result is a nonpulsating positive
displacement flow with a discharge rate proportional to the size of the cavity, rotational
speedoftherotorandthedifferentialpressureacrossthepump.Insomecases,PCPpumps
are connected to Electric Submersible Pump Motors rather than using a sucker rod string
andsurfacedrive.

PCPPUMPADVANTAGES
Lowcapitalinvestment
Highsystemefficiency

Lowpowerconsumption
Pumpsoilsandwaterswithsolids
Pumpsheavyoils
Nointernalvalvestoclogorgaslock
Quietoperation
Simpleinstallationwithminimalmaintenancecosts
Portable,lightweightsurfaceequipment
Lowsurfaceprofileforvisualandheightsensitiveareas
Canbeinstalledindeviatedandhorizontalwells.

SubsurfaceHydraulicPumps

D. Todorov

PCPPUMPDISADVANTAGES
Limitedliftcapabilities(approximately7,000ft.maximum)
Shortlife
Reversemotionofthestringandmotorwhenmotorstopsandliquidcolumnflows
backuntilP(hydrostatic)isbalanced.
Installationofreversebrakes
Ifrundryfrictionincreaseshightemperatures

Hydraulic Lift Systems consist of a surface power fluid system, a prime mover, a surface
pump,andadownholejetorreciprocating/pistonpump.Intheoperationofahydrauliclift
system,crudeoilorwater(powerfluid)istakenfromastoragetankandfedtothesurface
pump.Thepowerfluid,nowunderpressurebuiltupbythesurfacepump,iscontrolledby
valvesatacontrolstationanddistributedtooneormorewellheads.Thepowerfluidpasses
through the wellhead valve and is directed to the downhole pump. In a piston pump
installation,powerfluidactuatestheengine,whichinturndrivesthepump,andpowerfluid
returnstothesurfacewiththeproducedoil,isseparated,andispipedtothestoragetank.A
jetpumphasnomovingpartsandemploystheVenturiprincipletousefluidunderpressure
tobringoiltothesurface

HYDRAULICLIFTSYSTEMADVANTAGES
JetLift
Nomovingparts
Highvolumecapability
"Free"pump
Multiwellproductionfromasinglepackage
Lowpumpmaintenance

PistonLift
"Free"orwirelineretrievable
Positivedisplacementstrongdrawdown
Doubleactinghighvolumetricefficiency
Gooddepth/volumecapability(+15,000ft.)

HYDRAULICLIFTSYSTEMDISADVANTAGES

Highinitialcapitalcost
Complextooperate
Onlyeconomicalwherethereareanumberofwellstogetheronapad.
If there is a problem with the surface system or prime mover, all wells are off
production

ElectricSubmersiblePumps(ESPs)

D. Todorov

Electric Submersible Pumping (ESP) Systems incorporate an electric motor and centrifugal
pumpunitrunonaproductionstringandconnectedbacktothesurfacecontrolmechanism
andtransformerviaanelectricpowercable.
The downhole components are suspended from the production tubing above the wells'
perforations.Inmostcasesthemotorislocatedonthebottomoftheworkstring.Abovethe
motor is the seal section, the intake or gas separator, and the pump. The power cable is
bandedtothetubingandplugsintothetopofthemotor.
Asthefluidcomesintothewellitmustpassbythemotorandintothepump.Thisfluidflow
pastthemotoraidsinthecoolingofthemotor.Thefluidthenenterstheintakeandistaken
intothepump.Eachstage(impeller/diffusercombination)addspressureorheadtothefluid
atagivenrate.Thefluidwillbuildupenoughpressureasitreachesthetopofthepumpto
liftittothesurfaceandintotheseparatororflowline.
Electricsubmersiblepumpsarenormallyusedinhighvolume(over1,000BPD)applications.

ELECTRICSUBMERSIBLEPUMPINGADVANTAGES
Highvolumeanddepthcapacity
Highefficiencyover1,000BPD
Lowmaintenance
Minimalsurfaceequipmentrequirements
Highresistancetocorrosivedownholeenvironments
Useindeviatedwellsandverticalwellswithdoglegs
Adaptabletowellswith41/2"casingorlarger

ELECTRICSUBMERSIBLEPUMPDISADVANTAGES
Poorabilitytopumpsand
Highvoltageelectricityavailability
Noapplicabletomultiplecompletions
Costlytoinstallandrepair

GasLift

Inatypicalgasliftsystem,compressedgasisinjectedthroughgasliftmandrelsandvalves
into the production string. The injected gas lowers the hydrostatic pressure in the
productionstringtoreestablishtherequiredpressuredifferentialbetweenthereservoirand
wellbore,thuscausingtheformationfluidstoflowtothesurface.
Essentially,theliquidsarelightenedbythegaswhichallowsthereservoirpressuretoforce
thefluidstosurface.

Summary

D. Todorov

Asourceofgas,andcompressionequipmentisrequiredforgaslift.
Proper installation and compatibility of gas lift equipment, both on the surface and in the
wellbore,areessentialtoanygasliftsystem.

GASLIFTADVANTAGES
GasLiftisanartificialliftprocessthatcloselyresemblesthenaturalflowprocessand
basicallyoperatesasanenhancementorextensionofthat process.Theonlymajor
requirementisanavailableandeconomicalsupplyofpressurizedgas.
Widelyusedinoilfieldsthatproducesandandgassyoils
Crooked/deviatedholespresentnoproblem
Applicabletooffshoreoperations
Lowcosts

GASLIFTDISADVANTAGES
Notfeasibleifnosourceofgaspresent.
Highinitialcapitalpurchasecost.
Maintenanceintensive.
Difficulttooperate.

Artificialliftisincreasinginuseasmatureoilfieldsdeclineinproductivity,asneweroilfields
require the introduction of artificial lift sooner, as improvements in oilfield management
practice become more widely deployed and more rapidly adopted, and as oil volumes
pumpedannuallyincreaseglobally.