Production Engineering

Prof. ir. Koen H. Bracquené

q
 Table off contents
1 The production system
1. 5. Artificial lift

1.1. Well flow capacity 5.1. Pumping

1.2. System intake performance
5.2. Gaslift
2. Completion
6. Rigless well intervention
2.1. Completion configurations
2.2. Completion equipment 6.1. Wireline
62 C
6.2. Coiled
il d tubing
t bi
3. Pay zone borehole connection

3.1. Completion fluids

3.2. Perforating
33 S
3.3. Sandd control
t l

4. Well stimulation

4.1. Acidizing
g
4.2. Hydraulic fracturing
Inflow Performance Response for oil wells
productivity index
Open flow potential of gas wells

laminar/Darcy turbulent/non-Darcy

back pressure test

Open flow potential

Production process

for production to occur bottom hole pressure

must be lower than formation pressure and
more than the backpressure caused by the whole
downstream circuit
 Tubing performance
choke to stabilise the pressure in the flow line:
pressure downstream of choke is unaffected by upstream pressure
if flow through choke is supersonic; generally when upstream
pressure is at least twice downstream pressure

IPR
C
Choke performance
f ((1))
gas flow rate through a positive choke
C
Choke performance
f ((2))

oil flow rate through a positive choke

 S
System intake performance
f
any changes on the system
will impact flowrate: maximum possible flowrate Qmax is intersection IPR and SIP
well stimulation
tubing diameter
separator pressure
…
pressure losses in tubing and flowline (Cte x Q **2)

hydrostatic pressures in tubing and flowlines + separation pressure (PHtbg + PHfl + Psep)
C
Completion configurations
f (1)
( )

open hole completions cased hole completions

C
Completion configurations
f (2)
( )

single zone completions dual zone completions

C
Completion configurations
f (3)
( )

tubingless completions

single
g selective completion
p
 Horizontal completions
 Increase kh (low permeabilty, thin,…)

 Increase drainage/recovery and recovery rate (fewer wells, lower draw down, reduce
gas and/or water production,…
Surface and subsurface completion
 Packers (1)
( )
Retrievable: run as an integral part of the tubing and can be released and
recovered on the tubing / can be set by compression or tension,
mechanically (manipulation at surface) or hydraulically (dropping a ball
and pressuring-up tubing) / compression, tension and tension-
compression
i type
t
 Packers (2)
( )
Permanent: tubing can be released from the packer and
can be pulled leaving the packer as an integral part
of the casing / can be set mechanically,
hydraulically or electrically by wireline (explosive
charge gives gas pressure) / to be destructively
removed by milling / withstands any pressure
differential
hydraulic setting

packer picker
milling tool
 Production tubing

maximum erosion velocity

((a)) API integral
i t l
(b) API non upset
(c) API external upset
(d) Elastomer
(e) VAM
(f) CS hydril
 Tubing design (1)
( )
collapse, burst and axial loads similar to casing design based on worst case scenarios

collapse: full evacuation, partial evacuation, tubing leak, annulus pressure test,…

burst: producer well killing, injection pressure (injector wells), stimulation pressure,…

axial loads: running, pulling (including overpull to release from packer or latch,…),…

design factors:

collapse: 1.10

b
burst:
t 1 10
1.10

axial: 1.30
 Tubing design (2)
( )
length changes for freely moving tubing and tubing with packers allowing limited
movement
1. freely moving tubing
Tubing design (3)
( )
 Tubing design (4)
( )
2. packers allowing limited movement
Tubing design (5)
( )
Circulating devices and landing nipples
 S
Subsurface
f safety
f valves
subsurface controlled surface controlled

control line

pressure differential pressure operated

wire line tubing
retrievable retrievable
 C
Completion ffluids
(1) minimal damage to the reservoir, (2) keep the well safe and kill the well when
needed for intervention, (3) cleaning the well

Additives:
 Perforating
f (1)
( )

shaped
h d charge
h
jet: 20 000 ft/s; 5 000 000 psi
API RP 43 standard characteristics

positive pressure flow test

EH:0.25
EH:0 25’’- 0.50
0 50’’
TCP: 2’’- 18’’
reverse pressure flow test
 Perforating
f (2)
( )
Casing guns Tubing guns
 Perforating
f (3)
( )

fire release produce

Overbalanced Underbalanced Underbalanced

Before completion After completion After completion
Casing guns Tubing guns Casing guns
 S
Sand control (1)
( )
 Washing out of reservoir and possibly cap rock
 Sand accumulation in bottom of the hole, reducing h or even plugging
 Equipment erosion, corrosion

screens gravel packing consolidation

 S
Sand control (2)
( )
high density
gravel pack
 Acidizing
mainly used to restore near well bore permeability after plugging during drilling,
completion or production

 Carbonates:
15 % HCl by weight concentrations are used
HF undesirable in view of CaF2 precipitation

 Sandstones:
3 % HF + 12 % HCl by weight concentrations
clays are dissolved into H2SiF6 and H3AlF6

additives: corrosion inhibitors, wetting agents, demulsifiers, clay stabilizers, surfactants,…

basic reactions:
4 HF + SiO2 SiF4 + H2O + CO2
2 HCl + CaCO3 CaCl2 + H2O + CO2
2 HF + CaCO3 H2O + CaF2 + CO2
Hydraulic fracturing
f
 S
Sucker rod pump (1)
( )
Polished rod

R pumps T pump
Q=SxNxA (a) fixed cylinder and
Q is flow rate moving plunger
S is stroke (b) moving cylinder and
N is strokes per time unit fixed plunger
A is area of the plunger
efficiency factor to be involved 150 bpd (10000 ft) – 1500 bpd (2500 ft)
 S
Sucker rod pump (2)
( )

tubing anchor

gas anchor
 S
Sucker rod pump (3)
( )
asynchronous rate

tensile load on a tapered rod

Fo = fluid load
Wrf = weight of the rods in the fluid
 S
Sucker rod pump (4)
( )

Counterweight Effect

tensile load on a tapered rod

Fo = fluid load
Wrf = weight of the rods in the fluid
 S
Sucker rod pump (5)
( )

PBH = PR - (Q/PI)

PBH is bottom hole flowing pressure

PR is reservoir pressure
p
PI is productivity index
Q is required flow rate

pump to be submerged as:

•PR declines with cumulative production/time
•avoid gas entering the pump (PBH>PB)
S
Submersed centrifugal
f pump

number of stages is the THD

(Total Dynamic Head)
centrifugal divided by the delivered head
pump per stage adjusted from water
stage
t to the specific gravity of
the fluid to be pumped
 Hydraulic pump

turbine
surface
f facilities
f iliti

centrifugal pump

jjet p
pump
p turbine
pump
plunger pump
Moyno pump
 G lift
Gas f (1)
( )

continuous gas lift intermittent gas lift self gas lift

PI > 0.45 bbl/d/psi PI < 0.45 bbl/d/psi
95 % of wells in gas lift

surface facilities
G lift
Gas f (2)
( )
 G lift
Gas f (3)
( )

casing start up with continuous lift

operated
valve

side pocket mandrel

G lift
Gas f (4)
( )
positioning tools
Wireline (1)
( )
 Wireline (2)
( )

spang jar
j t b l jjar
tubular restricted
t i t d fl
flow, restriction
t i ti ends,
d i
impact
t closing
l i jjar
tensioning line stem acceleration

mechanical jar hydraulic jar

 Wireline (3)
( )
running tool pulling tool
 Wireline (4)
( )

gage cutter

hydraulic scratcher
wireline grab impression block overshot

mechanical

bailers
Coiled tubing
Applications: clean out operations, acidising,
plugback, sand consolidation (silicalock),…

Advantages: fast rig-up, high running speeds,

live well applications, no kill fluid, no
impairment,…

Disavantages: live wells, limited pulling

capacity,
it lilimited
it d rotational
t ti l capacity
it