Design of ESP Installation

3 types:
Conventional design
Gassy wells
With VSD unit
 Basic data requirement
• Well physical data:
Casing  and  liner sizes,weights,and
setting  depths
 Tubing  size,  type,  weight,  and  thread. 
Total  well  depth. 
Depth  of  perforations  or  open  hole  interval. 
Well  inclination  data. 
• Well performance data:
Tubing-head  pressure  at  the  desired  rate. 
 Casing-head  pressure. 
  Desired  liquid  production  rate. 
  Static  bottomhole  pressure  or  static  liquid 
  level. 
 
 Flowing  bottomhole  pressure  or  dynamic
liquid  level. 
 Productivity  data  (PI  or  q  for  the Vogel  
model). 
  Producing  gas/oil  ratio. 
  Producing  water  cut  or  water/oil  ratio. 
  Bottomhole  temperature  at  desired  liquid  
rate. 
• Fluid properties:
Specific  or  API  gravity  of  produced  oil. 
Specific  gravity  of  water. 
Specific  gravity  of  produced  gas. 
Bubblepoint  pressure. 
Viscosity  of  produced  oil. 
pVT data of produced fluids (volume factors, s
olution GOR, etc.). 
• Surface power supply parameters:
Primary  voltage  available  at  the  wellsite. 
  Frequency  of  the  power  supply. 
 Available  power  supply  capacity
• Unusual operating conditions:
Production  of  abrasives,  especially  sand. 
Paraffin  deposition. 
Emulsion  formation. 
Type  and  severity  of  corrosion. 
Extremely  high  well  temperatures. 

 
 Conventional design
• Features:
Single phase (liquid only)
The amount of free gas at the pump suction is
very low
The viscosity of the produced liquid is low
The ESP unit is fed with AC current with
constant frequency
 Well inflow calculation
• The
  selection of the ESP pump cannot be made
without the knowledge of the liquid rate and the
dynamic liquid level.
• Calculation of flowing bottomhole
pressure(FBHP):
From previous data and this
FBHP= SBHP-
SBHP:static bottomhole pressure(psi)
q= liquid rate(STB/d)
PI=Productivity index(STB/d/psi)
 Well inflow calculation
• If well inflow flows the Vogel model then FBHPis
found from this figure
 Well inflow calculation
• The pump intake pressure (PIP) is calculated
using the fluid gradient and this formula
PIP= FBHP-(Lperf-Lset)gradl
Lperf:TVD of perforations,ft
Lset: TVD of pump setting,ft
gradl:fluid gradient in the annulus , psi/ft
 Well inflow calculation
• Calculation of solution gas /oil ratio using the
bubblepoint pressure
Rs=g

T: suction temperature, °F
g: gas specific gravity
API=oil API gravity
• We can Know if there is a free gas by comparing
this value to the well’s producing GOR
• ESP pump can handle small amounts of free gas
This correlation (Turpin) used to determine if this
is the case
• The
  liquid volumetric rate is calculated from this
formula:
•
qo:oil volumetric rate STB/d
qw:water volumetric rate STB/d
Bo:oil volume factor at the pump suction pressure
bbl/STB
Bw: water volume factor at the pump suction
pressure bbl/STB
• =0,972+1,47
F=Rs+1,25T
• :oil
  and gas specific gravities
• T:suction temperature
 THD calculation
• (Total
  dynamic head)
• To determine the number of pump stages
• = the sum of
The wellhead pressure at the given q
The net hydraulic pressure acting on the pump
The frictional pressure drop in the tubing string at the
giving q

=
• Lset=TVD
  of pump setting,ft
• CHP=caisinghead pressure
• grado,gradg=oil and gas gradient in the
annulus,psi/ft
• We can estimate the frictional head loss in the
tubing string from this diagram
• The
  total frictional head loss in the tubing string is
• =
• :mesured tubing length to the pump setting
depth,ft
• THD=(WHP-CHP)++
• WHP: producing wellhead pressure,psi
 Selection of the pump
• The determination of the pump series (outside
diameter) to be used
The serie represent the OD
for exemple:
338 means the OD is 3.38 in
400 means the OD is 4.00 in
the following table containthe drift diameters of
several API casing sizes
 Pump type
• The selection of the pump type is based on the
comparison of the well’s desired liquid production
rate and the liquid capacity .
• The pump selected should have:
The required liquid rate within its optimum
capacity range
The rate belonging to its best efficiency point
(BEP) to fall close to the desired rate.
We can select the pump type using this table
 Number of stages
• Stages=
: head developed by one stage
We always select a pump with the next
available greater number of stages than the
number calculated.
Checking the pump’s mechanical strength

• The
  shaft and the pump housing
• The stenght of the shaft is give by the
manufacturer
• The total power needed:
Stages
: the power needed to drive one pump stage,
HP/stage
•  must be less than

• Maximum internal pressure :

=
:shut-in head developed by one pump stage, ft
For  safe  operation,  the  calculated  maximum  
pressure  must  be  less  than  the burst  pressure  rati
ng  of  the  pump  housing. 
 Selection of the protector
• the  right  size  (series)  is  to  be  chosen, 
the protector shaft should be capable to 
transfer the required power, and 
the  protector’s oil expansion capacity  should 
be  sufficient. 
Calculation of the maximum thrust acting on
the protector
• 0.785
 
• d: Pump shaft diameter
• We can determine thrust loading at the
bottomhole temperature by this
 Motor selection
• When  selecting  the  submersible  motor
to  match  the  ESP  pump  already :
chosen,  one  has  to  determine: 
the  proper  motor  series  (outside  diameter), 
the  required  motor  power,  
 the  right  combination  of  motor  voltage  and  
amperage. 
• Calculation
  of the flowing velocities in the
annulus
• =0.0119
• ql’: in-situ liquid flow rate, bpd
• Idc:incide diameter of the casing string
• Odm:outside diameter of the motor
• Calculation of the motor current demend:
• I=
• Inp:nameplate current of the motor,amps
• HPnp:nameplate power of the motor,HP
• BHPsystem:power requierment of the ESP
system,HP
 Selection of the power cable
• It is not only technical task but requires economic
consideration
• The selection is by determining its length,typeand
size.
 Cable length:
The length of the power cable is determined from the
running depth of the motor ,for the safe connection of
the surface equipment about 100 ft is added
 Cable type:
The proper choise primarily depends on well conditions
(temperature)and  the  composition,  gas  content  and  
corrosiveness  of  the  well, fluid.
The  main  considerations on the proper selection of the
individual parts of  the cable :
 The  material  of  choice  for  cable  conductors  is 
copper,  especially  in deeper  wells, since  aluminum has 
a lower  conductivity. 
  The  two  most  common  materials  used  for  the  insula
tion  of  the  individual  conductors  are  polypropylene an
d EPDM(ethylene  propylene diene monomer),   their
 temperature limits are 205 F and 400  F, 
  Jackets  are  made  from  Nitril  or  EPDM  materials, 
 the  latter  being  used at  higher  temperatures. 
 Braids  or  tapes  provide  additional  strength  and  
protection  to  cable components
 

 Metal armor provides mechanical protection to the
 cable during running and pulling and the choices are 
galvanized or stainless steel and Monel. 
 Cable size:
Main consideration: the physical dimensions and the
voltage drop along the cable.
• physical size should be chosen so that the cable fits in 
the annulus  between the casing string an  the  ESP unit
• one  of  the  following rules  of  thumbs  was  used  to 
 select  the  size  of  the  power  cable :
The  cable  with  a  voltage  drop  of  less  than  30 V  
per  1,000  ft  of  cable length  was  chosen.  Consult 
the  Fig in Appendix   where  this  limit. 
•   The  cable  with  a  total  voltage drop  less the 5%  of 
the motor nameplate voltage was selected
The mounthly payment necessary to pay back the capital
outly for the cable PB
 PB=CI
CI:capital invesment for cable, $
N:expected life for the cable,months

P:prime interest rate,%year

•  The monthly operating expenses:
The total resistance Rt:
=
Lc:cable length,ft
r: resistance of conductor at 77°F,ohm/1,000ft
BHT:bottomhole temperature,°F
The power loss in the cable:
=
I:required motor current,amps

• The
  mounthly cost of this power loss($/month):
=720
Ce:cost of the electric power, c/kWh
After that the steps of cable size selection are the following:
Based  on  the  ampacity  chart  of  the  selected  cable  typ
e  ( see   Fig), the allowed
amperage values of each available  size 
 Cable  sizes  with allowed currents  greater than  the  requi
red  motor current are selected for further economic
analysis
  

 
 
 After  performing  the  calculation  of  total  costs  for  
each  candidate, the  cable  with  the  minimum  of  
monthly  costs  is  chosen.
•  Checking the Motor starup:
=
Unp:motor nameplate voltage,volts
I:required motor current, amps
RT:cable resistance,ohms
should be greater than 0.5
 Switchboard and transformer selection

•  The installation’s surface voltage requirement:

= 1.732
I:required Motor current,amps
Rt:cable resistance,ohms
• The power rating of the switchboard in KVA unit
==0.001732
 example
• Select the main components of an ESP
installation running at a constant frequency of
60 Hz in a vertical well with the following data.
• Solution: Following the steps of the
conventional ESP design
• first, the inflow conditions of the well are
determined
• Well inflow calculations:
FBHP= SBHP-
• The
  pump intake pressure is determined from the
fluid gradient in the casing annulus:
=SGw*water cut+SGo(1-water cut)

gradl=

PIP= FBHP-(Lperf-Lset)gradl
• To
  find the solution gas/oil ratio at suction
conditions
We use
Rs=g
where the oil’s API gravity and the variable y are
found as:

And
• The free gas/oil ratio at suction conditions is:

In order to find the actual gas volume, the volume

factor of gas, Bg, has to be calculated, for which the
knowledge of the deviation factor is necessary. The
pseudocritical state parameters are calculated from
And

The reduced parameters and the deviation factor Z

from
Ppr=FBHP/Ppc
Tpr=Pump suction temp/Tpc
• Gas volume factor now can be determined from
•  The free gas volumetric rate is found as follows:

The calculation of the liquid volumetric rate follows

with the determination of the oil volume factor
from:
F=Rs+1,25T
And
=0,972+1,47
•  

• The liquid volumetric rate handled by the pump is

found from and assuming Bw = 1:
•

• The percentage of the gas rate in the total fluid

rate at the pump’s suction conditions is 18/(1310
+ 18) =0.01 =1%, a negligible amount of gas, so
the ESP system is designed for pumping liquid
only
•  TDH calculations:
The dynamic liquid level at the desired liquid rate from
this eq, neglecting the gas gradient:
=

Frictional head loss is determined from Fig for a new

tubing as:
•  The total head loss, calculated from
=

Now the total dynamic head to be developed by the ESP

pump can be determined by using
THD=(WHP-CHP)++
• Selection of the pump:
• Based on the casing size and the desired liquid
rate, a 400 Series D1400Ntype pump is selected
from Table . Using the performance data of the
selected pump, the following specific parameters
can be determined at the desired liquid rate of
1,310 bpd
• The
  number of pump stages required to develop
the TDH value is determined from:
 Stages=

From the manufacturer’s catalog, the nearest

pump with 221 stages (Housing 120) is selected.
The selected pump must be checked for
mechanical strength, first by finding the maximum
power occurring on its shaft from
 Stages
•  

• which is less than the allowed power of 200 HP,

the shaft is OK. Checking the strength of the
housing necessitates calculation of the maximum
internal pressure from:
=

• which is less than the allowed burst pressure of

the given pump housing.
•  Selection of the protector:
The selected D1400N pump is a floating impeller
pump; therefore the selection of the necessary
protector is based on the downthrust developed on
the pump shaft. The maximum thrust acting on the
protector’s thrust bearing is found from:
 0.785
• A
  400 Series labyrinth-type protector is selected,
whose allowed thrust loading at the bottomhole
temperature is found as 4,000 lb from Fig. Since
this is greater than the actual load, FTB, the
selected protector checks OK. The protector shaft
is rated at 256 HP, while the power required by
the pump is only 72 HP, so the selection is right.
• Motor selection:
Motors from the 456 series are considered, and first
the annular flow velocity of the produced liquid is
checked from
=0.0119
•  
• The motor should develop a total power equal to
the power required to drive the pump because no
gas separator is needed. To cover the system
power of 72 HP, a motor with the following
parameters is selected from the table

• The actual current demand of the selected motor

is found from
• I=
• Selection of the power cable:
Cable length is selected as 100 ft longer than the
pump setting depth—that is, 5,000 ft
Based on the temperature conditions, a RedaHot 4
kV cable with galvanized armor is selected. As seen
from the ampacity chart of this cable type (Fig.), all
sizes can handle the required 48 amps at the well’s
bottomhole temperature. For the selection of the
optimum cable size the following data are
assumed:
• From the manufacturer’s catalog, the properties of
the different cable sizes are determined as given
here:

• In order to find the optimum size, the pay back

cost, the cost of the power wasted in the cable and
the total cost have to be calculated using equations
•  PB=CI

• =
• =
• =720
• Based
  on the total monthly costs, the AWG Size 4
is selected as the one giving the most economic
solution.
• To check the startup voltage at the motor
terminals, the ratio of the startup voltage to the
nameplate voltage is found from:
=
•  Switchboard and transformer selection:
The required surface voltage of the installation is
the sum of the motor nameplate voltage and the
cable voltage drop, as calculated from:
 = 1.732

Selection of the switchboard and the necessary

step-down transformer is based on the kVA
requirement of the installation, found from
==0.001732
Gas lift valves
• Continious gas lift usually consist of a number of
unloading valves and an orifice valve
(operating valve) at the operating point
• The role of the unloading valves is to allow
smooth , positive and reliable unloading of the
well
• The role of the operating valve is to allow
production over the time with continously
changing conditions
• Gas lift valve is designed to stay closed until
certain conditions of pressurein the annulus and
tubing are met.
• When the valve opens it permits gas or fluid to
pass from the casing annulus into the tubing
• The operating valve is installed to control the
point of gas injection.
• Valves above it are installed to unload the well
• After unloading the close to eliminate gas
injection above the operatin valve.
• Casing and tubing are in hydraulic communication
because the GL valves are in open position
• GL pressure available to unload the well is
generally not sufficient to unload fluid to the
desired depth for gas injection .This is because
the pressure caused by the static colomn of fluid
in the well at the desired depth of injection is
greater than the available gas pressure at the
depth of injection
• That’s why we install a series of unloading valves
• They are designed to use the available gas
injection pressure to unload the well until the
desired depth of injection is achieved
ESP Pump Performance
Curve
• The pump performance curves characterize the
performance of ESP pumps.
Pump Curve:
• The published pump performance curve
describes the performance of particular pump
(or stage). It shows the discharge head
developed by the pump, brake horsepower
(power consumption curve), and efficiency of
the pump as a function of flow rate. It is an
experimental curve given by the manufacturer
and obtained with freshwater at 60 °F (S.G. = 1)
under controlled conditions.
• The left vertical axis is scaled in feet and meters of
head (or lift).
• The bottom horizontal axis is scaled in bbl/d and
m3/d.
• The curve labeled Head-Capacity defines the lift
(or head) the impeller can produce at all of the
available flow rates.
• The first vertical axis on the right is scaled in
horsepower. It is based on pumping water with a
specific gravity of 1.00.
ESP Performance Curves also show Best
Efficiency Point (BEP) and ESP operating range.
ESP Performance Curves are used for ESP
design and sizing.
These curves are for a fixed power cycle i.e.
50Hz, and can be changed with variable
frequency controllers.
 Definitions

Total head: the difference between the pump

outlet and inlet head in feet. This is the vertical
distance, in feet from the pumping fluid level to
the centerline of the pressure gauge, plus the
pressure gauge reading converted to feet,  plus the
friction loss between the pump discharge and
pressure gauge in feet.
Brake horsepower (BHP): the power required by
the pump corrected for a fluid with a S.G. = 1.
Best Efficiency Point (BEP): Defines pump
performance parameters at the maximum
value on the efficiency curve.
Recommended operating range: located
between the maximum and minimum
recommended flow rates.
• Effect of axial forces on the ESP performance:
• All centrifugal pumps develop axial thrust. Axial thrust is an
important factor in establishing the recommended operating
range of a centrifugal pump. Refer to following Figure, which
depicts a typical thrust curve vs. capacity over the entire range
of a particular pump type. It shows where up-thrust and
down-thrust occurs in relation to the head capacity curve.
• Every centrifugal stage is designed to produce at a certain flow
rate range. In addition, there is a best efficiency point (BEP) for
every stage. Furthermore, every stage type has a
recommended range. In the previous typical pump
performance curve, the recommended range is indicated by a
blue color area (from 630 to1200 m3/d). Across the operating
range, the forces on either side of the impeller shroud are
such that they minimize the amount of thrust that would be
transmitted to the diffuser pads.
• Thrust generated by a multi-stage centrifugal
pump is usually supported in one of two ways:
Floater Construction or Compression Construction.
• Shape of the pump performance curve:
The  ability  of  a  pump  to  adapt  to  changes  in  well 
performance  depends  on the characteristic  shape of  the
pump performance  curve.
• A pump with a steep characteristic (i.e.  large  change 
in  head with  respect  to  flow  rate)  is  less  suited  to 
a well with poorly defined inflow performance (IPR), 
especially if  it is intended  to  produce  with  a  fixed
drawdown.  For  such pumps, a  small  loss  in  IPR 
translates  to  a  large fall  in pump  intake pressure
and may result in gas locking.
• Conversely, the head produced by a pump with a
flatter characteristic will change less for a given 
change  of  flow  rate  and  can  therefore  be 
used  over  a wider  variety  of  IPR’s with limited
changes in intake pressure.
Gas lift optimisation
• understanding the pressure and rate of gas
injection are crucial in attaining the optimised
production potential from the well.
• The optimal gas lift injection rate for a well,
which is dependent on many factors
• It is usually modelled for each well and on a
field-wide basis.
• The comparison of hypothetical injection gas rate
scenarios and the original well condition - at any
time - becomes very valuable to determine the
impact on the production rate.
• Once this information is known, injection rates
and production rates can be plotted (Figure 3).
This is a very useful graph since its main objective
is to help identify the maximum rate, the technical
optimum injection rate, and the economic
optimum injection rate (the injection rate where
extra injection costs balance extra production
revenue).
• Because the gas lift has a small window to
operate efficiently, injecting more gas at some
point may end up in a lower production rate; this
behavior is typically observed after reaching the
maximum technical rate. The reason behind this
is the increment in friction due to a greater
volume flowing in the tubing which is faster than
the counterbalanced reduction in the hydrostatic
term in the pressure loss calculation.