Introduction

Artificial Lift Methods

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 Artificial Lift - Uses

• In Oil Wells, Gas Wells and Coal Bed Methane

wells:
– To “boost” or increase production of naturally flowing
wells
– To put dead wells back into production
– To stabilize the unsteady production of some naturally
flowing wells
– To “kick-off” wells that can produce naturally but may
die when closed and can not achieve the natural
equilibrium flowrate without help
• In water injection wells
– To “backflow” and clean the injection zone

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 Artificial Lift Methods
• There are several artificial lift methods. The most common ones are:
– Beam Pumping
– Electrical Submersible Pump
– Continuous Gas Lift
– Progressive (Progressing) Cavity Pump
– Hydraulic Jet Pump
– Intermittent Gas Lift
– Plunger Lift
– Hydraulic Reciprocating Pump
– Etc…
• For deep water conditions it may be more convenient to install the
artificial lift device outside the production well at some point of the
seabed. Those methods are called Boosting Methods. The most
common ones are:

– Sub-sea multiphase pumping

– Riser gas lift
– Sub-sea separation and pumping
– Etc…

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 Beam Pump

Pumping Unit

Prime Mover

Polished Rod
Stuffing Box

Tubing
Sucker Rods

Pump

4
 Electrical Submersible Pumping

Primary Transformer

Switchboard

Wellhead and
electric
mandrel

Tubing
Round Cable

Packer

Pump

Separator

Protector

Flat Cable
Motor

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 Main Important Methods

• Sucker Rod Pump

– Most commonly used method worldwide
– Used massively in US and in significant number of wells in
Russia, China and South America
– Simple to operate and inexpensive compared to other methods,
but usually lower pumping capacity
– Problems with high GLR, with small tubing, with deep wells and
with crooked or deviated wells
– Can achieve very low bottom hole flowing pressure making it
ideal for very depleted reservoirs
• Electrical Submersible Pump
– Second most commonly used method worldwide
– Used massively in Russia and in significant number of wells in
US
– Responsible for the highest amount of total fluids produced (oil
and water) by any artificial lift method and an ideal method for
high water cut wells
– Problems with sand production, high gas liquid ratio and high
bottom hole temperatures

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 Continuous Gas Lift

Injection Choke
Christmas Tree

Unloading Valve
Gas Lift Mandrel

Tubing

Operating Valve

Packer

6
 Progressing Cavity Pump

Transformer

Polished Rod
Control
Panel Electric Motor

Christmas Tree

Tubing
Rods

Downhole PCP

Gas Anchor

Anchor

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 Main Important Methods

• Continuous Gas Lift

– Very flexible and service through wireline is
inexpensive. Tolerant to sand and solids production,
tolerant to high GLR, tolerant with deviated wells
– Requires a stable source of high pressure gas and
looses efficiency as bottom hole flowing pressure
declines and may require the use of another artificial
lift method as reservoir ages
– The high reliability of the method makes it the first
choice for offshore production instead of ESP
• Progressing Cavity Pump
– Less expensive than other methods and tolerant to
solids and sand production
– Selection of materials (elastomer for the stator) very
dependent on temperature and fluids composition

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 Hydraulic Jet Pumping

Transformer

Control Panel
Motor Power Fluid Treatment
Valve

Christmas Tree

Tubing

Downhole Pump

Standing Valve

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 Intermittent Gas Lift

Intermitor
Christimas Tree
Pressure Gas

Open

Closed
Tubing

Unloading Valve
Valve Mandrel

Operating Valve
Packer

Check Valve

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 Plunger Lift

Catcher
Control Valve

Computer
Open
Closed

Tubing

Plunger

Plunger stop

Seating nipple

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 Main Important Methods

• Hydraulic Jet Pump, Intermittent Gas Lift and

Plunger Lift
– Special circumstances makes these methods very
effective in some applications
– Hydraulic Jet Pump
• Very beneficial for high-viscosity crudes where blending with
a light power fluid can help in the processing of heavy crudes
– Intermittent Gas Lift
• Very beneficial for wells with a reasonably high reservoir
pressure but low productivity where stimulation is not an
option and high gas liquid ratio makes the use of beam pump
difficult
– Plunger Lift
• Used in combination with intermittent gas lift to reduce liquid
fall back or by itself in wells that present casing heading as a
form of enhanced natural flow. Very used in dewatering
applications

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 Beam Pump

Pumping Unit

Prime Mover

Polished Rod
Stuffing Box

Tubing
Sucker Rods

Pump

15
 Beam Pump
• The oldest and most commonly used form of artificial lift
• Familiar to most engineers and operators
• Allow very low fluid levels (low bottom hole flowing pressure)
• Low capital investment for low production at shallow to medium depths
• High investment for high flow rates in deep wells
• Adaptable to scale and corrosion problems
• Limitation with casing size
• Not suitable for crooked holes
• May have problems with sand production, high viscosity fluids and high GLR
wells
• Easily installed in remote locations with an internal combustion engine

Pumping Unit

Prime Mover

Polished Rod
Suffing Box

Tubing
Sucker Rods

Pump

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 Electrical Submersible Pumping

Primary Transformer

Switchboard

Wellhead and
electric
mandrel

Tubing
Round Cable

Packer

Pump

Separator

Protector

Flat Cable
Motor

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 Electrical Submersible Pumping
•Very complex system. MTBF (mean time between failures)average around 2 ½ year worl wide
•Can be applicable to a wide range of flowrates from 100 bpd up to 100,000 bpd but efficiency
reduces with a decrease in flowrate
•Investment cost directly related to the depth due to cable cost and motor horsepower
•Efficiency increases with reduction in produced GLR either by reduction of GOR or increase in
WC. Efficiency decreases with decrease in flowrate
•Casing size is not critical for high flowrates
•Requires work-over to remove a conventional unit although cable and coil deployed options are
available
•Electrical systems is the weak link and requires a stable source of electricity
•Electrical system (cable, motor and protector) very sensitive to operating temperature
•Can be flexible with the use of a Variable Speed Drive(VSD). Very delicate installation and a high rate of “infant mortality”
•May have problems with scale, sand and wax

Primary Transformer

Switchboard

Wellhead and
electric
mandrel

Tubing
Round Cable

Packer

Pump

Separator
Protector

Flat Cable
Motor

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 Continuous Gas Lift

Injection Choke
Christmas Tree

Unloading Valve
Gas Lift Mandrel

Tubing

Operating Valve

Packer

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 Continuous Gas Lift
• Very simple method seen as an extension of natural flow
• Requires a source of high pressure gas and casing and lines must withstand injection pressure
• Low investment for deep wells if high pressure gas is available
• Efficiency decreases with decrease in production GLR either due to a reduction in GOR or
increase in WC
• No problem with sand and crooked wells. Can be used in deviated wells but highly deviated wells
may have problems retrieving valves with wire line
• Very flexible and simple design, applicable in a wide range of flowrates from 50 bpd (macaroni
tubing) to 40,000 bpd (casing flow)
• There is a relation between the minimum possible bottom hole flowing pressure, the depth and the
fluid properties
• Most design modification and repairs can be done through wire line intervention without the need
of a workover
Injection Choke

Christmas Tree

Unloading Valve

Gas Lift Mandrel

Tubing

Operating Valve

Packer

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 Progressing Cavity Pump

Transformer

Polished Rod
Control
Panel Electric Motor

Christmas Tree

Tubing
Rods

Downhole PCP

Gas Anchor

Anchor

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 Progressing Cavity Pump
• Is a positive displacement pump that does not rely on valves to pump fluids
• Usually has a stator made of an elastomer. Stator material is sensitive to oil
composition (aromatics) and temperature
• Has higher tolerance to free gas than beam pumping, but excess gas can also cause
lack of lubrication and cooling as well as chemical problems with the elastomer
• May have problems with deviated and crooked wells
• Applicable for low to medium flowrates

Transformer

Polished Rod
Control
Panel Electric Motor

Christmas Tree

Tubing
Rods

Downhole PCP

Gas Anchor

Anchor

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 Hydraulic Jet Pumping

Transformer

Control Panel
Motor Power Fluid Treatment
Valve

Christmas Tree

Tubing

Downhole Pump

Standing Valve

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 Hydraulic Jet Pumping
• Very simple method
• From all artificial lift methods this is the one that has the biggest depth application
range
• The use of a light oil as the power fluid makes this a very interesting method for high
viscosity fluids
• Requires an injection of 5 to 7 times the volume of liquid produced
• No moving parts, applicable to deviated and crooked wells
• Pump can be back-circulated to the surface

Transformer

Control Panel
Motor Power Fluid Treatment
Valve

Christmas Tree

Tubing

Downhole Pump

Standing Valve

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 Intermittent Gas Lift

Intermitor
Christimas Tree
Pressure Gas

Open

Closed
Tubing

Unloading Valve
Valve Mandrel

Operating Valve
Packer

Check Valve

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 Intermittent Gas Lift
• Despite the name this is a “pumping” method. The pump is a “gas piston” that
expands and accelerates to the surface propelling a liquid slug on top
• Same general characteristics of continuous gas lift
• Usually used for low flowrate range
• Intermittent gas injection and liquid production can disrupt the separation system as
well as can interfere with other wells
• High instantaneous consumption of injected gas

Intermitor
Christimas Tree
Pressure Gas

Open

Closed
Tubing

Unloading Valve
Valve Mandrel

Operating Valve

Packer

Check Valve

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 Plunger Lift

Catcher
Control Valve

Computer
Open
Closed

Tubing

Plunger

Plunger stop

SeatingNipple
nipple

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 Plunger Lift
• A mechanical interface (plunger) used to reduce the liquid fall back in
intermittent gas lift wells
• Can be used without external gas injection using the production gas
accumulated in the casing
• Plunger descend velocity will affect production cycle and production flowrate
• Can be used with and without an external injection of gas

Catcher
Control Valve

Computer
Open
Closed

Tubing

Plunger

Plunger stop

SeatingNipple
nipple

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 Hydraulic Reciprocating Pumps
• This method is a combination of a positive displacement pump
(similar to a sucker rod pump) actuated by a hydraulic system
(similar to the power fluid injection system of hydraulic jet pump)

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