PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Faculty of Hydrocarbons renewable energies and science of the

earth and the universe
Department of Hydrocarbons Production

THESIS
To obtain the Master's degree
Option: Production

ARTIFICIAL LIFT: CASE STUDY OF ESP WELL

Presented by: Supervised by:

Youcef Hamdi
Latreche Sadek Dr. MILOUDI.M
 ARTIFICIAL LIFT: CASE STUDY OF ESP WELL

Presented by:
YOUCEF HAMDI / SADEK LATRECHE
 PROJECT PLANNING
ARTIFICIAL LIFT
METHODS OF ARTIFICIAL LIFT
1. SUKER ROD PUMP
2. GAS LIFT
3. JET PUMP
4. PCP
5. ESP
6. HSP
CASE STUDY OF ESP
PRESENTATION OF THE FIELD AND THE WELL
WELL PERFORMANCE
ESP DESIGN AND EVALUATION
CONCLUSION
 • WHAT IS ARTIFICAIL LIFT
The term, artificial lift, applies to numerous tools, equipment, controls, instruments,
computer hardware and software, technologies and techniques used to increase
the flow of liquids (usually crude oil, water or a mix of oil and water along with
natural gas) from a production well
Used on
 mature, depleted fields where the reservoir can no longer produce under its natural energy
 younger fields to increase production rates and improve project economics
• Difference between ALS and pressure maintenance

To maintain the production we cans either use something called pressure mainte
nance or artificial lift .
 Pressure maintenance is about injecting water or gas into the reservoir to m
aintain the pressure on an acceptable level.
 Artificial lift systems distinguish themselves from pressure maintenance by ad
ding energy to the produced fluids in the well; the energy is not transferred
to the reservoir.
The lift can be achieved by

1. Mechanically through the use of a pump.

2. Decreasing the weight of the hydrostatic column in the well b

y injecting gas into the liquid at the desired depth.
WHY WE CHOOSE ARTIFICIAL LIFT ?
The world counts now around 1 Milion producing oil wells
94 % of them are assisted by some form of artificial lift

94%
ARTIFICIAL LIFT

06%
NATUREL FLOW
 Thousands of Dollars Spent on Artificial Lift
Per New Well Drilled in the World

$250

$200

$150

$100

$50

$0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
The global artificial lift market has grown f $18
rom $2 billion in 1999 to $4.5 billion in 2005 $16
to 2014’s $15.3 billion.
$14
FASTEST GROWTH: Artificial lift $12
$10

Billion
SLOWEST GROWTH: Well servicing,
$3.2
$8
Artificial Lift $6
$3.8 $13.7
Chemicals
$4
$2
Well Servicing
$0
Compression
$7.5
Gas lift ESP’s PC Pumps Hydraulic Pumps Jet Pumps Beam pump
 Newest SRP on Algeria @ BRN
The Sucker Rod Pump is the oldest and most com
mon artificial lift method, simple in design and st
ill widely used over the world.
Advantages
●Relatively simple.
● Low rate: less than 100 bpd.
● Low intake pressure.
● viscous oil can be pumped.
● rather low operating expenses
Limitations: Latest SRP on Algeria @ BRN
● Sensitive to gas.
● Maximum capacity decreasing rapidly with dep
th.
● Sensitive to solids (wax/scale/sand).
● Sucker rods Sensitive to corrosion.
● Equipment too heavy for offshore.
● No suitable for highly deviated wells.
consist of injecting high pressure gas from the surface to a pre
determined tubing string depth to decrease fluid density
Advantages
● Suitable for medium rate and water drive reservoirs with high botto
m-hole pressure.
● Provides full bore tubing string access.
● Low operational and maintenance cost.
● Can handle (tolerate) produced solids.
● Low surface profile, important for offshore/ urban locations
Limitations
● Gas has to be available.
● possible high installation cost
● Gas lifting of viscous crude is difficult.
● Difficult restart after shut down.
● Wax precipitation problem may increase due to cooling effect from
gas injection and subsequent expansion.
● Hydrate blocking surface gas injection lines can occur if gas inadequ
ately dried.
● Limited by reservoir pressure and bottom hole flowing pressure
Jet pumps are the only form of artificial lift that require no down-hole
moving parts. Jet pump is an ejector-type dynamic- displacement pump ope
rated by a stream of high-pressure power fluid that converges into a jet in t
he nozzle of the pump.
Advantages:
● No down-hole moving parts.
● Compact and reliable.
● Easily installed and retrieved by wire line.
● No electrical connections or down-hole electronics.
● Simple to operate: Ideal for remote areas.
● Power fluid does not to be so clean as for hydraulic piston pumping.
Limitations :
● less efficient than other pump systems.
● Require large volume of power fluid.
● Power fluid and reservoir fluids mast mix, so a key issues is the selection
of an appropriate power fluid.
This disadvantage can be turned into an advantage in heavy oil applicati
on.
● Very sensitive to any change in backpressure
Their operation involves the rotation of a metal spiral rotor insid
e either a metal or an elastomeric spiral stator
Rotation causes the displacement of a constant volume cavity fo
rmed by the rotor and the stator.
Advantages:
● Simple design.
● Quick pump unit repaired by replacing rotor and stator.
● High volumetric efficiency, in absence of gas.
● Emulsion not formed due to low shear pumping action – ESP and HSP pu
mps promote emulsion formation due to high pump speeds.
● Capable of pumping viscous crude oil
● Long live with no abrasive fluid.
● Compact and reliable.
● Simple to operate: Ideal for remote areas
Limitations:
● High starting Torque.
● Short live with abrasive fluid.
● The presence of the Elastomeric seal is the weak point of P
CP pump.
The (ESP) is a multistage centrifugal pump driven by a downhole el
ectric motor.
The pump unit consists of a stacked series of rotating centrifugal
impellers running on a central drive shaft inside a stack of
stationary diffusers, it is essentially a series of small turbines.
Advantages:
● High rates and depth.
● High water cut is not a restriction.
● Can pump against high flow-tubing head pressure .
● Minor surface equipment needs.
● Good in deviated wells.
● Can be used for well testing (DST).
Limitations:
● Casing size limits pump size
● Limited capacity to adapt to reservoir performance changes
● Difficult to repair in the field
● Available electric power
● Free gas and solids handling
● Emulsions might be formed with high viscosity fluids and water
● Workover required to change
Hydraulic pumps use a high pressure power fluid pumped from the surface whi
ch:
● Powers a centrifugal or turbine pump.

Advantages:
● As good alternative to the ESP.
● The pump operate at higher speed than an ESP (around three-four times hig
her revolution/min) therefore they require few stages and are smaller.
● No electrical connections or down-hole electronics.
● Flexibility: can handle rates from50 to 20.000 bpd.
● Simple to operate: speed control by the variation of supplied power fluid.
Disadvantages:
● Pumps with moving parts have a short run life when
supplied with poor quality power fluid.
Solid-free power fluid is mandatory.
● High GOR represent gas handling problems.
● viscous crude reduce pump efficiency.
The ESP commands the largest share of the artifi $16,000
Artificial Lift Market by Type of Lift
cial lift market largely because it is the most exp
ensive system. $14,000

Spears & Associates estimate that ESP expenditu

res were 58% of the total artificial lift market. $12,000

In other words, the industry spends more money a Other

nnually on ESPs more than for all other forms of a $10,000
Plunger
rtificial lift combined

Millions
Gas Lift
$8,000
Hydraulic
PCP
$6,000
ESP

42% $4,000
Rod Lift

58%
$2,000

$0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Other lift ESP
 Junction box Transformer
Well head VSD
 Power cable

impeller stage
Pump stages Gas separator Protector Motor
The BRN (Bir Rebaa Nord) field is located in the eastern are
a of Hassi Messaoud at about 310Km

The Groupement Sonatrach-AGIP is the operator of the fiel

d and it’s represents the first association between SONAT
RACH and a foreign company AGIP (ENI group (Italy))

BRN is an oilfield with more than 200 wells , and 90,000 S

BOPD as daily production
 Total Well Intervention
2006 -2017

16

14

12

10

4 Active ESP Running Year

Total Runs & Pulls /Year
2 ESP Replacement /Year
ESP New Installations/Year
0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
ESP New Installations/Year 1 2 0 1 3 6 6 2 4 3 2 2
ESP Replacement /Year 0 0 0 0 4 4 9 8 5 4 2 8
Total Runs & Pulls /Year 1 2 0 1 7 10 15 10 9 7 4 10
Active ESP Running Year 1 3 3 3 6 11 15 13 14 13 9 10

ESP New Installations/Year ESP Replacement /Year Total Runs & Pulls /Year Active ESP Running Year

On 2006 GSA completed the first well with ESP and since that the number of ESP wells increasing,
Now BRN has 12 wells on ESP
SFNE 13 was completed in Middle TAGI (2,952 -2,958 m) and it is start producing on 05/03/2009
Operations to maintain well production
from July 2016 the WC started to take place and increased gradually from 28% to 44%
On 11/08/2016 SFNE-13 shut-in due to Train #03 shutdown. After shut-in, different attempts to restor
e well production were negative
On 26/08/2016, Upper TAGI perforations extension were done (2936 – 2948 m). After perforating U
pper TAGI, WC decreased to 27% due to anhydrous oil coming from Upper TAGI level (confirmed by PLT i
n October 2016).
By time, water production started to increase also in Upper TAGI, up to 25% (as per PLT in March 2017
)
On 05/04/2017 Copperhead 4 ½” Bridge plug was set @ 2949.4 m in order to isolate Middle TAGI
(water source )
Middle TAGI isolation has been successful, since the production test of 08/04/2017 (at FTHP 109 bar) r
egistered oil production of 2500 Sbopd and WC 8% (vs. 40% pre-isolation)
 13/01/2017 Cleanout

19/01/2017 Cleanout + Squeeze

07/02/2017 Cleanout + Squeeze

19/02/2017 Cleanout

23/02/2017 Cleanout

24/02/2017 Gas lift

02/04/2017 Completion Wash

03/05/2017 Cleanout

30/05/2017 Cleanout + Squeeze

30/06/2017 Clean out +TWS

15/07/2017 Gas lift

16/07/2017 Gas lift

10/10/2017 Gas lift

21/09/2017 Cleanout + Squeeze

24/09/2017 Gas lift

28/09/2017 Cleanout

 SFNE-13 production has been penalized due to high water cut

 Frequent cleanout & Gas lift jobs done to restore well production.
 20th September, well ceased flowing
 On 24 & 28 September Gas lift operations done, the results were negative.
 Last well parameters before shut in was 1626 bopd and W.C. 36 %
The well was selected to be candidate
for ESP installation
The well information were collected
to construct the ESP design
 PVT of fluid Completion description

For modulation we have used Prosper as simulation software

 Reservoir Pressure

275 Bar
Tubing Performance Curve (VLP)

Operating Point
Pwf

Inflow (Reservoir) Curve (IPR)

Operating Flowrate

1600 SB/d
 No Interception = no flow

The sensitivity of water cut on the well performance model shows that the well will cease flowing naturally aft
er a WC = 50% ,we can see the outflow curve (VLP) moving upward away from the inflow curve (IPR) and n
o intersection between them after WC =50%
The target liquid flow rate QL=800 Sm3/d We use the ESP Design tab on Prosper and insert the desire
WHP= from 100 to 150 bar Operating frequency =50 Hz d data after that we click Calculate
Prosper provide the essential calculations results of Prosper will short list the pumps that can provide the target flow rate in th
eir Recommended Operating Range (ROR)
the design
and because the contractor is BAKER company we will choose from
Centrilift pumps, we picked R5600 pump with 204 Stage

ESP workover Installation started on 29/10/2017 and finished

on 15/11/2017
 Pump depth
2350 m

ESP commissioning (clean up) started on 15/11/2017 (7 hrs.)

well parameters as follow:
WHP = 38.7 Bars PIP = 192.72 Bars W.C. = 45 %
Water dilution 13 L/M
ESP has been running continuously since 13/12/2017, with quite stable parameters,
on 15/12/2017, a production test through Halliburton MPFM was recorded with the above results: PIP = 216.5 b
ar DP = 301 bar Fq= 50 Hz
DP= 315 bar

PIP=196 bar

Liq Rate=759 Sm3

We can see that the pump handle the flow rate of l

iquid =759 Sm3/D
Most of the oil and gas fields operating currently in worldwide have been in production for decades. and the
ir need for artificial lift systems will grow with time. (Hassi Messaoud field more than 55 year of production)
ESP expenditures were 58% of the total artificial lift market this last is expected to reach 26.5 billion USD b
y 2025.

As we saw the ESP give us a gain of 60% of oil rate from just one well (SFNE 13), and with its flexibility and
ability to handle WC till 100% and it’s suitability to vertical or horizontal wells will make it the first artificial
lift method in the oil field in the next few years.

The black points of ESP system is the relatively short run life and the cost of workover in case of failure, the
manufactures searching for alternatives to deploy the ESP system such as CT, wireline or even small unites
of workover to overcome the high rate of rigs
THANKS FOR WATCHING