A

PROJECT REPORT
ON
OVERVIEW OF CBM & IT’S WORKOVER OPERATIONS
AT
Reliance Industries Limited
CBM Project, Shahdol, M.P.

SUBMITTED BY:
M. VIGNESH REVAN
B.Tech. Petroleum Engineering

Under the guidance of

Mr. VINOTH KUMAR
Head. Drilling Engineer. RIL

Rajiv Gandhi College of Engineering

(AICTE Approved, Affiliated to Anna University, Chennai - Accredited by NBA, New Delhi) Sriperumbudur

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Mr. M. VIGNESH REVAN, student of B.Tech. Petroleum
Engineering, Rajiv Gandhi College of Engineering, Sriperumbudur underwent a
training program in our organization from 7th Feb to 28th Feb, 2019. He has
successfully completed his Training on “Overview of CBM & It’s Workover
Operations” in CBM Project, Shahdol, Reliance Industries Limited.

Mr. Dharmesh Tailong

Head-Drilling and Completion
Reliance Industries Limited – CBM
Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh, India.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It gives me immense pleasure to acknowledge all those whose inspiration and wisdom helped me in
completing my winter internship.

On behalf of my college I would like to extend my gratitude towards “Reliance Industries Limited”
for giving me an opportunity to pursue my winter internship program in such a renowned
organization.

First and foremost I would like to thank Mr. Subrata Khanra (Head- HR) for considering my
candidature as winter intern. I am deeply indebted to Mr. Dharmesh Tailong whose help, stimulating
suggestions and encouragement helped me to complete my winter internship successfully. I am also
thankful to the Mr. Niraj Srivastav and HR team of RIL that facilitated my internship.

I take an opportunity to express my gratitude and sincere thanks to Mr. Vinoth Kumar, RIL CBM
Projects, for providing excellent facilities to complete the training on “CBM Operations”.

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to all the people who were directly or indirectly
involved in my internship for all their help, support interest and valuable hints.

M. VIGNESH REVAN
th
B. Tech Petroleum Engineering (IV Year)
Rajiv Gandhi College of Engineering
 INDEX
CHAPTER I
1. Introduction
2. Different Sectors of Reliance
CHAPTER II
1. Introduction to CBM
2. Origin of CBM Reservoirs
3. Coal Bed Methane (CBM) in India
4. Geological Information – General Geology and Stratigraphy
5. Geology of Area
6. General Behaviour of a CBM Well
7. Role of Coal Rank in CBM
8. Coal Cleat System
9. Difference between CBM and Conventional Gas
CHAPTER III – PROGESSIVE CAVITY PUMPS
1. Progressive Cavity Pumps - Introduction
2. Operating Principle
3. PCP Tools & Equipment
4. PCP Installation
5. System Design Criteria
6. Torque and Power Requirements
7. Specifications of PCPs used in Sohagpur
8. Optimization of Pump Intake Depth
9. Optimization of Pump RPM
10. Pump Sizing
11. PCP – Operational Problems
12. Advantages and Limitations
CHAPTER IV – PCP TORQUE CALCULATION
1. Formulas Used
2. Case Studies
CHAPTER V – WORKOVER OPERATIONS
1. Workover Operation - Introduction
2. Types of Workover Operations
CHAPTER VI – CONCLUSION
 CHAPTER I

1) INTRODUCTION:

Reliance is one of the largest exploration and production players in India having a balanced
domestic conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon portfolio. RIL’s upstream business
comprises the complete chain of activity starting from exploration, appraisal, development and
production of hydrocarbons. Reliance domestic portfolio comprises of six conventional oil and
gas blocks in Panna Mukta Tapti (PMT), Krishna Godavari, Mahanadi, Gujarat Saurashtra, &
Cambay Basins and two Coal Bed Methane (CBM) blocks in Sohagpur East and West in
Madhya Pradesh.

2) DIFFERENT SECTORS OF RELIANCE:

1. Exploration and Production of Oil & Gas:

RIL’s upstream business comprises the complete chain of activity starting from exploration,
appraisal, development and production. Reliance entered the Exploration and Production (E&P)
business by becoming a 30% partner in an unincorporated joint venture with British Gas and
ONGC in the Panna Mukta and Mid and South Tapti blocks. Besides Panna Mukta and Tapti
(PMT) block. RIL also acquires five conventional oil and gas blocks in Krishna Godavari,
Mahanadi, Cauvery Palar, Gujarat Saurashtra & Cambay Basin and two Coal Bed Methane
(CBM) blocks in Sohagpur East and West in Madhya Pradesh. Reliance has acquired two
offshore blocks in Myanmar. Reliance entered into three Joint Ventures in the Marcellus and
Eagle Ford plays in the fast-growing US shale gas industry. Oil and gas is currently being
produced from our PMT blocks and KG D6 blocks in India and shale gas JVs in the US. The
operations of reliance are:

 Conventional: In 2002, Reliance struck gas in the D1-D3 field of KG D6 block. RIL is
producing natural gas from the gas fields D1-D3 since April 1, 2009, and light crude oil
from the D26 oil field in KG D6 block, since September 17, 2008. Both projects have
been commissioned in a record time – the D1-D3 fields in about six and half years, and
 the D26 field in just a little over two years - from discovery. These fields rank amongst
one of the largest green-field deepwater oil and gas production facilities in the world. D1-
D3 fields are the first and only deepwater producing fields in India and remains among
the most complex reservoirs in the world. Reliance, along with its partners, has
committed ~$6 billion for second wave of projects in KG D6 over the next few years.

 Coal Bed Methane: Development activities are underway in 2 CBM blocks (Sohagpur
East and West) with first gas in 2017. As part of CBM development program, Reliance
has drilled more than 200 wells and set up two Gas Gathering Stations and 8 Water
Gathering Stations. Reliance Gas Pipeline Limited (RGPL), one of the subsidiary of RIL
operates 300 KM of natural gas pipeline from Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh to Phulpur in
Uttar Pradesh to transport gas from RIL’s CBM blocks. The CBM project is the largest
surface footprint hydrocarbon project of the country.

 US Shale Gas: Reliance’s upstream joint ventures in US Shale gas include a 45%
working interest (WI) partnership with Pioneer Natural Resources in the Eagle Ford shale
play and a 40% WI partnership with Chevron and a 60% WI partnership with Carrizo Oil
& Gas in the Marcellus Shale play.

2. Petroleum Refining & Marketing:

The Jamnagar manufacturing division is the world's largest refining hub and petrochemical
complex including gasification plant.

 DTA Refinery: Crude processing capacity of 668,000 Barrels Per Stream Day (BPSD),
the Jamnagar refinery is a trendsetter and has won several awards, including the
prestigious 'International Refiner of the Year' award. It also enjoys the distinction of
housing some of the world's largest units, such as the Fluidized Catalytic Cracker (FCC),
Coker, Paraxylene and Polypropylene plants. Fuels from Jamnagar refinery are exported
to several countries across the world. This complex refinery is future ready and can
produce gasoline and diesel of any grade.
  SEZ Refinery: The sixth largest in the world – in the Special Economic Zone at
Jamnagar. This refinery has a capacity for processing 580,000 BPD of crude. The
company also markets petroleum fuels in several African countries through its subsidiary
Gulf Africa Petroleum Corporation (GAPCO).

3. Petrochemicals & Polymers:

Reliance develop products that provide world-class experiences to their customers across a range
of applications – packaging, agriculture, automotive, housing, and healthcare among others.
Reliance is the world's largest integrated producer of polyester fiber and yarn.
 Polymers & Polyesters
 Fiber Intermediates
 Aromatics

4. Textiles:
From its plant at Naroda, Reliance spearheaded the manufacturing and marketing of the most
iconic brand in the history of textiles in India – 'Vimal'. Manufacturing division at Naroda houses
one of the largest and most modern textile complexes in the world, an achievement recognized
by The World Bank.
 Fabrics
 Apparel
 Auto Furnishing

5. Telecommunication:

The application Jio4GVoice brings the 4G communication suite to all smartphones. Reliance’s
cumulative investment in spectrum assets is Rs 34,000 crores. Reliance Jio has laid more than
2.5 lakh kilometers of fiber-optic cables, covering 18,000 cities and over one lakh villages, with
the aim of covering 100% of the nation’s population by 2018. It has an initial end-to-end
capacity to serve more than 100 million wireless broadband and 20 million Fiber-to-Home
customers.
 CHAPTER II

1) INTRODUCTION TO CBM:

What is Coal?

Coal is a chemically complex, combustible solid consisting of a mixture of altered plant remains.
Organic matter constitutes more than 50% of coal by weight and more than 70% by volume.
Coals are described and classified by differences in:
 Composition (type)
 Purity (grade)
 Maturity (rank)

Type refers to the variety of organic constituents. Coals are composed of macerals, which are
analogous to minerals in rocks. The three main maceral groups are:
 Vitrinite
 Liptinite
 Inertinite

Vitrinite macerals form the bright bands in hand samples of coals and originate from the woody
and cellulose portions of plants. Liptinite-rich coals have a waxy texture and are the product of
spores, resins, and algae. Inertinite-rich coals have a dull black luster and are composed of
oxidized organic matter. These differences are the basis for classifying coal types by their
appearance (such as bright-banded or dull-banded) or their composition (such as humic or
sapropelic).

Grade is a measure of the coal’s purity and is based on the weight percentage of organic material
as determined by chemical analyses. Impure coals are referred to as ash-rich or bony. Rank
represents the level of compositional maturity attained during coalification. Changes in rank are
caused by increases in temperature and pressure associated with deeper burial. Mature coals,
such as bituminous and anthracite coals, form at depths of thousands of meters in a process that
typically requires millions of years. As coals are buried more deeply, both their carbon content
and their ability to reflect incident light (vitrinite reflectance) increase. The measurement of
vitrinite reflectance is the most common means to assess coal rank.

Fig 1: Characteristics and genesis of coals and their precursors

2) ORIGIN OF CBM RESERVOIRS:

Coal originates as an accumulation of organic matter in swamps and marshes commonly

associated with fluvial systems, deltas, and marine shorelines. It is critical to submerge the
accumulating organic matter quickly beneath the water table to prevent oxidation. This requires a
combination of basin subsidence and a rising water table sufficient to match the accumulation
rate. Organic matter accumulates at an average rate of approximately a millimeter per year and
compacts by a factor of seven to 10 times as it is transformed into coal.

As organic matter is buried, it is first transformed into peat, which consists of loosely compacted
masses of organic material containing more than 75% moisture. This transformation takes place
mainly through the compaction and expulsion of interstitial water. Biochemical reactions
associated with this process transform the organic matter into humic substances, which are the
precursors of coal macerals. These reactions can also generate significant amounts of biogenic
methane, which often is referred to as swamp gas. Continued compaction and dehydration
transform peat into a low-quality coal called lignite, which contains 30 to 40% interstitial water.

With deeper burial, temperatures increase, and geochemical processes dominate physical
processes. Lignite evolves into subbituminous coal by expelling H2O, CO, CO2, H2S, and NH3,
leaving behind a structure enriched in carbon and hydrogen. At temperatures greater than
approximately 220°F (104.4°C), carbon-carbon bonds begin to break, generating gas and liquid
hydrocarbons that become trapped in the coals. As these bituminous coals are buried more
deeply, their hydrocarbons are cracked into thermogenic methane and expelled as an order of
magnitude more gas is generated than the coal is capable of storing. In a typical coal, the H/C
atomic ratio decreases from 0.75 to 0.25 as coals mature from high-volatile bituminous to
anthracite.

The generation and expulsion of hydrocarbons is accompanied by several profound changes in

coal structure and composition. Moisture content is reduced to just a few percent as water is
expelled. Microporosity increases as the atomic structure of the coal changes, generating a huge
surface area for sorbing methane. These changes also lower the bulk density from 1.5 g/cm3 in
high-volatile bituminous coals to less than 1.3 g/cm3 in low-volatile bituminous coals. Coal
strength decreases, making it easier for the coal to fracture as volatiles evolve and the coal
shrinks. This creates closely spaced cleats, which enhance permeability.

At temperatures exceeding approximately 300°F, bituminous coals are changed to anthracite (>
92% carbon). Methane generation and expulsion decrease, and the bulk density increases from
1.3 g/cm3 to more than 1.8 g/cm3 as the coal structure becomes more compact. Methane
contents in anthracites are typically quite high, but permeability is lower than bituminous coals
because of cleat annealing. With further maturation, remaining volatiles are driven off and
carbon structures coalesce, resulting in a dense coal with very high carbon content and a
chemical composition similar to graphite.

To generate temperatures high enough to produce large quantities of hydrocarbons, coals must be
buried deeply, typically to depths greater than 3000 m. Exceptions to this are coals transformed
by local heat sources such as igneous intrusions. After sufficient burial and time to generate
hydrocarbons, coals must be uplifted to shallower depths to be exploited commercially. At
depths shallower than a few hundred meters, there is not enough pressure in the cleat system to
hold economic quantities of sorbed gas in the coal. At depths greater than approximately 1200 m,
permeabilities are generally too low to produce gas at economic rates.

Fig 2: An overview on the coal formation process

3) COAL BED METHANE (CBM) IN INDIA:

Coalbed Methane (CBM), an unconventional source of natural gas is now considered as an

alternative source for augmenting India’s energy resource. India has the fifth largest proven coal
reserves in the world and thus holds significant prospects for exploration and exploitation of
CBM. The prognosticated CBM resources in the country are about 92 TCF (2600 BCM) in 12
states of India. In order to harness CBM potential in the country, the Government of India
formulated CBM policy in 1997 wherein CBM being Natural Gas is explored and exploited
under the provisions of OIL Fields (Regulation & Development) Act 1948 (ORD Act 1948) and
Petroleum & Natural Gas Rules 1959 (P&NG Rules 1959) administered by Ministry of
Petroleum & Natural Gas (MOP&NG).

CBM blocks were carved out by DGH in close interaction with Ministry of Coal (MoC) &
Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI), Ranchi. Under the CBM policy, till date,
four rounds of CBM bidding rounds have been implemented by MOP&NG, resulting in award of
33 CBM blocks [including 2 blocks on Nomination and 1 block through Foreign Investment
Promotion Board (FIPB) route] which covers 16,613 sq. km out of the total available coal
bearing areas for CBM exploration of 26,000 sq. km. To date, most CBM exploration and
production activities in India is pursued by domestic Indian companies. Total prognosticated
CBM resource for awarded 33 CBM blocks, is about 62.4 TCF (1767 BCM), of which, so far,
9.9 TCF (280.34 BCM) has been established as Gas in Place (GIP).

The Gondwana sediments of eastern India host the bulk of India’s coal reserves and all the
current CBM producing blocks. The vast majority of the best prospective areas for CBM
development are in eastern India, situated in Damodar Koel valley and Son valley. CBM projects
exist in Raniganj South, Raniganj East and Raniganj North areas in the Raniganj coalfield, the
Parbatpur block in Jharia coalfield and the East and west Bokaro coalfields. Son valley includes
the Sonhat North and Sohagpur East and West blocks. Currently, commercial production has
commenced from Raniganj South CBM block operated by M/s. GEECL since July 2007.

Current CBM production (March 2015) is around 0.77 MMSCMD from 5 CBM blocks which
includes test gas production from 4 CBM blocks and commercial production from 1 CBM block.
Seven more CBM blocks are expected to start commercial production in near future. The total
CBM production is expected to be around 4 MMSCMD by end of 12th plan as per XII plan
document.
State-wise distribution of CBM Resources in India

Fig 3: State-wise distribution of CBM resources in India

Conversion factor: 1 cubic meter = 35.3147 cubic feet

BCM: Billion Cubic Meter; TCF: Trillion Cubic Feet
In Place CBM Resources

Fig 4: In place CBM resources

Fig 5: CBM blocks awarded on nomination basis
 4) GEOLOGICAL INFORMATION- GENERAL GEOLOGY AND
STRATIGRAPHY:

Sohagpur CBM Blocks are part of the South Rewa Basin which forms the central part of the
Gondwana Supergroup. Sohagpur Gondwana basin is east-west elongated occurring at the
southern part of South Rewa Gondwana master basin. A complete sequence of Gondwana rocks
from Upper Carboniferous Talchir Formation to Lower Cretaceous Lameta Formation occurs in
this Coalfield. Structurally it is a half graben. A major east – west normal fault, namely Bamhani
fault traverses the basin. The CBM block forms the down thrown segment of this fault. The
CBM block is situated in the northern downthrown segment of this major fault along which
Raniganj and Barakar Formations are juxtaposed. A vast tract of coal bearing Barakar Formation
is exposed to the south of Bamhani-Chilpa Fault. The Barakar sediments are bounded by the
outcropping Talchir along southern and eastern fringes of the coalfield. Successive younger
sediments of Barren Measures outcrop towards south near Burhar, Raniganj outcrops in a large
part of CBM block, followed by Pali and Parsora further north, while the younger Lameta beds
are found outside the CBM block towards southwest. The Gondwanas are intruded by Upper
Cretaceous Trap derived doleritic intrusive, which at times has devolatilized the coals.

The Gondwana Coal basins of India form a three-pronged rift system along the major river
valleys viz. Damodar-Koel, Son- Mahanadi and Pranhita-Godavari. Rajmahal basin occurs as a
subsidiary at right angle to Damodar basin towards east. Rewa intra-cratonic basin, which is a
part of a Son-Mahanadi belt and wherein Sohagpur Coalfield is situated, displays a complete
sequence of Gondwana sediments with maximum thickness of about 4km reportedly encountered
in Tikki-1 well drilled at about 60 km north of CBM block by ONGC for oil and gas exploration.

Barakar Formation is the major coal bearing zone. It contains five persistent coal seams at depth
range of 250- 1000 meters in the block with average cumulative coal thickness of 6-25 m. Along
with these major seams local seam have been observed confined to few area. In addition,
multiple coal seams of Raniganj Formation with cumulative thickness in the range of 2-12
meters occurring at shallow depths of 50-340 meters are also present. The target coal seams in
the Barakar Formation are expected at 340-1000 m depth.
 5) GEOLOGY OF AREA:

Rocks of Raniganj Formation are exposed over most part of the CBM block. The Raniganj rocks
are composed of fine to coarse- grained sandstone, grey shale, carbonaceous shale and thin
impure coal bands. The Barren Measure rocks underline the Raniganj rocks and are encountered
only in subsurface in the block. The Barren Measures are characterized by coarse-grained
sandstone, heteroliths, and green to chocolate shale. The rocks of Barakar Formation,
encountered only in borehole and not exposed in the block area, comprise coarse to fine cycles of
sandstone towards upper part, and fine to medium grained garnetiferous sandstone in the lower
part. Carbonaceous shale and five coal seams are an integral part of the upper part of Barakar
Formation. Fault induced joints and extension joints are observed in the Raniganj rocks exposed
in the block area.
AGE FORMATION LITHOLOGY DESCRIPTION THICKNESS
(m)
Soil-Loose with occasional boulders
Recent and pebbles of sand and kankar. 0-15

Upper Dolerite – greenish black, very hard

Cretaceous to Igneous and compact. 50-200
Lower Intrusive
Paleocene
Dominantly fine grained micaceous
sandstone interbedded with medium to
Upper Permian Raniganj coarse sandstone, argillaceous to
calcareous matrix with gray shale, 50-600
carbonaceous shale and coal.

Dominantly medium to coarse

sandstone, hard with bands of chloritic
shale. 90-100
Grey to greenish grey shale/clay, fine
Middle Permian Barren measures
to coarse sandstone often chloritic,
hard and compact. 120-150
Coarse to fine sandstone with
interbands of green chloritic shale.
25-50
Coarse grained arkosic sandstone,
feldspathic matrix with coal, shale and
carbonaceous shale. 200-300
Lower Permian Barakar Fine to medium grained garnetiferous
sandstone with thin coal, carbonaceous
shale and gray shale. 100-150
Upper Greenish grey boulder beds,
Carboniferous Talchir sandstone, needle shales and tillites. 90-350
to Lower
Permian

Table 1: General Geology and Stratigraphy of Sohagpur CBM blocks.

 6) GENERAL BEHAVIOR OF A CBM WELL:

Productivity of CBM wells depends primarily upon permeability within micro-fractures. Typical
values for cleat-permeability range from a few milli-Darcy to a few tens of milli-Darcy.
Generally, the cleats in coal-beds are initially saturated with water. This water must be produced
before gas can start desorbing from the matrix into these micro-fractures. This initial phase of
water production is known as "dewatering". In this phase, gas production starts to build-up and
reaches a maximum value. This stage requires disposal of huge amount of water, which has a
significant impact on environment. Unlike produced water from conventional oil and gas, much
of CBM produced water may be put to beneficial use, such as agricultural use (irrigation of
crops, hydroponic system), livestock watering, industrial use (dust control, equipment washing,
power generation) or some water flood projects (depending on the quality of produced water). In
other cases it requires to treat produced water using chemical methods.

Fig 6. CBM Production Curve

 Storage Mechanisms in coal seams:

Gas can exist in a coal seam in two ways. It can be present as free gas within the natural porosity
of the coal (joints and fractures), and it can be present as an adsorbed layer on the internal
surfaces of the coal. The fine micro pore structure of coal has a very high storage capacity for
methane. Methane molecules adsorb to the micro pore walls. Because the bulk porosity of the
coal cleat system is small (less than five percent) and the initial gas saturation in the coal cleats is
typically low (less than ten percent), most of the gas-in-place in coals (greater than ninety
percent) is adsorbed in the coal matrix. The adsorbed gas volume is significant even in coals that
have gas saturated cleat systems at initial reservoir conditions. For example, a water saturated
coal containing 375 scf/ton of adsorbed gas has the same gas-in-place as a conventional
sandstone reservoir at 400 psi with 51 percent effective gas porosity, and the same gas-in-place
as a conventional sandstone reservoir at 1,600 psi with thirteen percent effective gas porosity.
For most coal seams, the quantity of gas held in the coal is primarily a function of coal rank, ash
content, moisture content, and the pressure of the coal seam. The adsorbed capacity of a coal
seam varies non-linearly as a function of pressure. This relationship is best described using a
Langmuir isotherm. The following figure shows typical desorption isotherms as a function of
coal rank.

Fig 7. Graph between volume absorbed and pressure

To estimate coal bed methane gas-in place, you must determine both the gas content of the coal
as it exists at initial reservoir conditions (pressure and temperature) and the desorption isotherm,
which describes how methane will be released as pressure is reduced. Both variables must be
obtained from core analysis. The gas content of coal generally is determined by directly
measuring the amount of gas desorbed from a coal after recovery. This measurement defines the
amount of gas in the coal at initial reservoir pressure and temperature. The desorption isotherm is
determined by grinding the coal to a fine mesh and systematically measuring the amount of gas
that the coal can contain at various pressures. The isotherm, therefore, defines the upper limit gas
concentration (i.e., maximum dsorptive capacity) as a function of pressure. The isotherm is
quantified by determining the Langmuir parameters from the test data. Determining the gas
content and the desorption isotherm by core testing is extremely important for estimating the gas-
in-place and for estimating well reserves. The desorption isotherm and gas content are necessary
for analyzing coal bed methane reservoirs and simulating recovery of methane from coal bed
methane wells.

Water is stored in coals in two ways: as bound water in the coal matrix and as free water in the
coal cleat system. The bound water in coals is formed as a byproduct of the coalification process.
Matrix bound water is not mobile and has not been shown to significantly affect methane
recovery from coal. The free water contained in the cleat system is mobile at high water
saturations (greater than thirty percent). Many blanket coal deposits are active aquifer systems
and thus are 100 percent water saturated in the cleat system. Coals that are not aquifers may have
initial water saturations less than 100 percent. The minimum mobile water saturation of the coal
cleat system is determined by relative permeability testing of cleated coal samples. Data
published in the literature suggest that a typical irreducible water saturation for a well cleated
coal is in the range of twenty to fifty percent of the interconnected cleat volume.

 Transport Mechanisms in coal seams:

Most of the gas present in coal seams is physically adsorbed on the internal surfaces of the un-
fractured coal “matrix.” Gas production from coals occurs by a three-stage process in which gas:

1. Flows from natural fractures

2. Desorbs from the cleat surfaces (natural fractures)
 3. Diffuses through the coal matrix to the cleats. This process is shown in the following
figure.

Fig 8. Transport Mechanism

 Desorption in coal seams:

Desorption is the process by which methane molecules detach from the micro pore surfaces of
the coal matrix and enter the cleat system where they exist as free gas. The desorption isotherm
defines the relationship between the adsorbed gas concentration in the coal matrix and the free
gas pressure in the coal cleat system. In the desorption stage, the desorption isotherm is the link
between the flow in the matrix system (where flow is controlled by concentration gradients) and
flow in the cleat system (where flow is controlled by pressure gradients).

 Diffusion in coal seams:

Diffusion is a process in which flow occurs via random molecular motion from an area of high
concentration to an area of lower concentration. Smith and Williams have found that diffusion in
coal is a combination of Knudsen diffusion, bulk diffusion, and surface diffusion, depending on
the coal structure and pressure. The process of the molecular diffusion of methane in the coal
matrix is shown in the following figure
 Fig 9. Diffusion

7) ROLE OF COAL RANK IN CBM:

Most commercial coalbed methane projects are in coals within the rank range of sub-bituminous
to low volatile bituminous, which usually provide optimum gas content and natural permeability.
Rank is most influenced by temp, pressure, length of burial and generally increases with
increasing depth. Vitrinite reflectance or fixed carbon content of a coal can be used to determine
rank. Vitrinite reflectance is determined by average measurements of reflected light, usually
from the surface of vitrinite in polished coal samples. Vitrinite reflectance for bituminous coals
usually are in range of 0.5% to 1.5%

8) COAL CLEAT SYSTEM:

Cleat is miner’s term for the natural system of the vertical fractures that have formed in most
coals. Cleat formation is mainly contributed to shrinkage curing the coalification process. The
cleat system in coal comprises two sets of fractures known as the face and butt cleats. Face
cleats, the dominant set of fractures, are oriented parallel to the maximum compressive stress
and are relatively planar and persistent. The face cleat spacing may range from one tenth of an
inch to several inches. Butt cleats are perpendicular to the face cleats and tend to be
discontinuous and non-planar. Butt cleats commonly terminate against face cleats.
 9) DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CBM AND CONVENTIONAL GAS:

S.NO. CONVENTIONAL GAS COAL BED METHANE

1 Inorganic reservoir rock Organic reservoir rock

2 Reservoir and source rock independent Reservoir and source rock same

Gas storage by adsorption on micropore

3 Gas storage in macropores, real gas law
Surfaces
4 Macropore size Micropore size

Diffusion through micropores by Fick’s Law

5 Darcy flow of gas to wellbore

Darcy flow through fractures

Gas content from cores. Cannot get gas content

6 Gas content from logs
from logs

Gas to water ratio increases with time in latter

7 Gas to water ratio decreases with time
stages

8 Permeability not stress dependent Permeability highly stress dependent

Well interference detrimental to Well interference helps production. Must drill

9
production multiple wells to develop.

Production schedule according to set

10 Initial negative decline
decline curves

Tab 2. Difference Between CBM and Conventional Gas

 CHAPTER III

1) PROGRESSIVE CAVITY PUMPS: INTRODUCTION

Progressive cavity pumps (PCPs) have become one of the most common types of lift methods for
dewatering coalbed-methane wells. Water rates are typically high during initial production and
may exceed 400 m3/d [2,500 B/D] in some cases but normally decline to ≈ 25% of their original
level after a few months. The produced water often contains high concentrations of suspended
sand from hydraulic fracturing, coal particles, and dissolved solids. To facilitate maximum gas
production, the wells are usually maintained in close to a pumped-off condition. This tends to
exacerbate the problems associated with the handling of produced gas. Because coalbed-methane
wells typically have quite modest gas flow rates, capital outlays and operating expenses must
consequently be minimized for these operations to be economically viable.

2) OPERATTING PRINCIPLE:

As the rotor turns eccentrically in the stator, a series of sealed cavities form to move fluid from
the intake to the discharge end of the pump. The differential pressure between the pump intake
and discharge provides the lift necessary to move produced fluid to the surface. The result is a
non-pulsating PCP system having several unique design features and operating characteristic that
favor their selection for many applications:
 High overall system energy efficiency typically in the 55% to 75% range.
 Ability to produce high concentrations of sand or other produced solids.
 Ability to tolerate high percentage of free gas.
 No valves or reciprocating parts to clog, gas lock or wear.
 Good resistance to abrasion.
  Low internal shear rates (limits fluid emulsification through agitation).
 Relatively low power costs and continuous power demand.
 Relatively simple installation and operation.
 Low profile surface equipment.
 Low surface noise level.

Some of the limitations and special considerations are as follows:

 Limited lift capacity (maximum of 3000m). Note that the lift capacity of larger
displacement PC pump is typically much lower.
 Sensitivity to fluid environment. (Stator may degrade)
 Subject to low volumetric efficiency in wells producing substantial quantities of gas.
 Sucker rod strings may be susceptible to fatigue failures.
 Rod string and tubing wear can be problematic in directional and horizontal wells
 Most system require the tubing to be pulled to replace the pump.
 Vibration problems may occur in high speed application.
 Parafins control can be an issue in waxy crude application.

3) PCP TOOLS AND EQUIPMENTS:

For a progressive cavity to pump up water efficiently from a CBM well, a number of
sophisticated equipments are installed for efficient working. The detailed list of equipment
required for PC pump operations is given below.
Bottom Hole Equipment:
• Stator
• Rotor
• No Turn Tool
• Rotor bushing
• Necessary X-overs & Gas anchors

Surface Equipment:
• Flow Tee
• Hollow Shaft drive head
 • Intrinsically safe electric motor/hydraulic motor driven by duel fuel engines
• Polished rod
• Polished rod clamp

Fig 10: PC- Pump tools and Equipment

Functions of drive head are to transmit rotation movement, carry axial load, isolate the drive
unit from the borehole fluid, support the drive system, control any backward rotation. The
bottom head of drive is connected to a flow tee. The drive shaft transmits torque to the rod string.
The polished rod is smooth, frictionless surface equipment which is used for proper sealing of
the oryxl. When the motor provides rotation motion to the rod, through the belt and driver pulley,
the rod rotates on its axis and if the rod passing through the stuffing box is not smooth then it
would damage the sealing material which is usually rubber. After polished rod, a number of
sucker rods are installed. They are used to transmit rotational movement from surface to
downhole and hence help in pumping water out. The rod should have high tensile strength to
sustain the axial load. It should be highly rigid so that low torsional energy is stored in it, which
is the cause of back spin. After sucker rods, a pony rod is installed. Its material is same as that of
sucker rods but is smaller in length. It is mainly use for the adjustment of the pump. It is
preferred to use 10ft pony rod between rotor and sucker rod during installation of the pump
Coupling is used to connect two sucker rods with one another. It has inner threads on both of its
ends. A spindle is used to set centralizers at a fixed position. It is connected in between two
couplings. If it is not used then the centralizer won’t be at its exact place, instead it would be
having to and fro motion and our string won’t be centralized.
The most important downhole equipment is the rotor and stator assembly.
A rotor is single helical polished surface equipment. It is placed in the stator (pump). When the
rotor rotates, it creates differential pressures which cause the fluid to move from bottom to top.
There is differential pressure of 6 bar created across each stage. Tubing is a cylindrical mild
steel cage with 0.3% carbon and manganese. Water is being pumped out through tubing only.
The pump is lowered by connecting several tubings. The end of this complete assembly comprise
of a small piece of tubing called as tail pipe. We use sharp edge tubing connection at the end of
the string during sand wash. Its one end has box connection and the other end is cut and has been
made sharper. It is the bottom part of the tubing, and is used to avoid any problem during flush
or sand wash job. Above this, a tubing is connected and the tubing top is connected to NTT.
Above NTT again a tubing is connected above which the stator i.e. pump is connected. Stator is
connected through tubing connections till the surface at surface a tubing hanger is needed to
hang the assembly. There is a braking system installed at the surface which is use to stop the
rotation of rod when the pump is switched i.e. used to stop the back spin of the pump.
Combination of belt and pulley is required to transfer the rotation motion and torque to the
polished rod to sucker rod then to the stator. Oryxl is a part of driver head assembly. It is used to
house packing gland. This packing gland is rubber material. Its main purpose is to prevent
leakage of fluid here it is water, between sliding and turning part. Motor is the surface
equipment which initiates the rotation motion. No turn tool or NTT’s purpose is to restrict any
clockwise rotation of stator and tubing connected to it. When the rotor rotates in the clockwise
direction then due to friction between rotor surface and inner part of stator, it tries to rotate in
same direction. And as the tubing is hanged to surface by tubing hanger, this clockwise motion
can cause the tubing to unscrew, so it is necessary to restrict the clockwise rotation of stator.
Stop bushing is a downhole equipment which is connected just below the stator. Its main
function is to prevent the falling of rotor whenever sucker rod fails and act as a reference for
space-out operation. Whenever a sucker rod fails it falls down and is stopped by stop bushing
otherwise it would really become complicated and expensive job to trip out the rotor and replace
the damaged rod. Stator is the most important part of PCP. It is commonly called as pump. Its
outer body is made of mild steel and its inner part is made of elastomer. There are three types of
elastomers that are being use. These are Nitrile, Fluoro and Hydro. Nitrile is most common.
Hydro elastomer is used when H2S is being produced with the pumping fluid. The stator has
helical one more than the rotor so that the cavities formed may travel from bottom to the top the
pump. Stator and rotor should be rested on wood or metal that does not damage them. Their
threads should not be damage during their storage. They should not be placed on slippery
surface. Their thread should be covered with protector caps. For each well, different rpm
(rotation per minute) is required. This is an optimum speed at which production can be done as
per the requirement. Thus the use of VFD allows the production of the well to be optimized. It is
possible to choose a rotational speed compatible with a minimum submergence level; hence a
maximum flow rate can be acquired. Pup joint is an extension tube which allows the eccentric
movement of the rotor head.

Fig 11: Downhole Equipment of PC-pump

NTT (No Turn Tool) / Spindle
Torque Anchor
Fig 12: No Turn Tool and Spindle

Fig 13: Mechanical and Thermal properties of different Elastomers

Typical stator assembly:

KUDU Pump 76K900 / 76K1200

Sr. No. Item
7 7
1 NTT – 2 /8” EUE x 2 /8” EUE P (Spring type)
2 X Over – 3 ½” NUE B x 2 7/8” EUE P
3 Stop Bushing – 3 ½” NUE P x 3 ½” NUE P
4 Stator – 3 ½” NUE B x 3 ½” NUE B
5 Orbital Tube – 3 ½” NUE P x 3 ½” NUE P
6 X Over – 3 ½” NUE B x 2 7/8” EUE B
7 Pup Joint – 2 7/8” EUE P x 2 7/8” EUE B

Table 3: Stator Assembly

Designing principles of PCP:

Fig 14: Rotor and Stator pitch

The Designing of the PC-pump depends on Lobe ratio, Offset eccentricity, Stator pitch or Cavity
formation. The lobe ratio is the ratio between the pitch of the rotor and stator. Pumps could be of
two types - Single-lobe pump (1:2) and Multi lobe pump (2:3). In single lobe pump the stator
pitch length is exactly double than the rotor pitch length. While the mating of the rotor and stator
in the single lobe pump two parallel helical cavities are formed 180 degrees apart. Single lobe
pump can be differentiated from multi lobes pump on the basis of extra cavity formation. Usually
in multi lobes pump, three or more parallel cavities formed inside the pump. The movement of
rotor inside a stator is shown in fig. 14. Eccentricity is the radius of the circle of the rotor head
traces about the stator centerline. In case the eccentricity is the difference between the rotor head
and rotor center. The rotor/stator torque is defined by its eccentricity. The rotor rotation inside
the stator is a combination of two motions: a rotor rotation to the right around of its n axis and an
eccentric reverse rotation around the stator axis. The use of eccentricity is also important because
while the rotating motion is transferred through the surface drive to the polished rod the motion
does not remain circular. The motion of the rod changes elliptical thus while designing the PCP
the offset eccentricity calculation is important. The stator pitch is double than the rotor which
creates the passage to flow of the fluid through the pump. The cavity formation depends on the
lobes and the eccentricity of the rotor/stator.

Fig 15: Movement of rotor in stator

4) PCP INSTALLATION:

The process of installation of PC-pump for dewatering a CBM well is different from a
conventional oil and gas well. At the bottom, a sharp edge tool is placed which is followed by
tubing. The tubing is followed by a No turn tool. After NTT, again tubing is installed. Ahead of
this, stop bushing is installed followed by pump. Now a pup joint is connected. Tubings are
connected till surface from the pup joint. The next step is to install rotor. The length of the rotor
is always greater than stator. Rotor head should not come inside the stator. Rotor is followed by
sucker rods till the surface. Then the space out process is performed. Space out is a process in
which we set the rotor accurately in the stator so that the pump can work effectively. During
space out, firstly pump assembly is made to rest on stop bushing. Now a mark is drawn on the
sucker rod which is coming out of well head. The whole assembly is pulled to a height equal to
the length of stop bushing and again a mark is drawn. The assembly is further pulled to a height
equal to length of flow tee and a mark is drawn. Again pull it further to height equal to the height
of driver head and draw a mark. Now pull out this marked sucker rod and another sucker rod just
below it. Calculate the marked length and add it to the length of unmarked sucker rod which is
being pulled out. Subtract the length of a polished rod from this calculated length and arrange
pony rods which can be used to complete this remaining length. Connect these pony rods trip
down the assembly, above the pony rod connect the polished rod.

Pre-Operation Checks:
 NTT-Check the NTT is working properly
 Stator-Check whether the elastomer is ok and not damaged
 Stop Bushing-Check the stop bush is not damaged
 Pup Joint-Check whether the threads are ok
 Tubing (2 𝟕/𝟖’’ EUE)-Check the tubing are ok and not punctured, also the threads are ok
 Rotor- It is clean and lubricated with proper grease, also no damage is done while
installing it
 Coupling- All threads are ok, also not worn or damaged
 Sucker rod (1’’)- All threads are ok, also not worn or damaged
 Centralizers- Check whether it is rotating freely on the spindle
 Spindle- All threads are ok, also not worn or damaged
 Polish rod- All threads are ok, also not worn or damaged
 Drive Head Assembly- It has proper lubrication and all connections ok
 Well Head- Its clamp is proper holding the tubing or not

5) SYSTEM DESIGN:
In selecting a pump, the two most critical requirements are:

 the pump should have sufficient displacement capacity

 the pump should have sufficient pressure capability to overcome the net
lift required for the application

A) System Design Volume:

In order to monitor the pump performance the following calculations should be run.

1. Pump Displacement:
V = C *e*d*p
Where,
3
V = Pump Displacement (m /day/rpm or
bbls/day/rpm) d = Minor Rotor Diameter (mm
or in)
e = Pump Eccentricity (mm
or in) p = Stator Pitch Length
(mm or in)
C = Constant (SI: 5.7E-6 or IP:5.94E-1)

2. Designed Fluid Rate

The designed fluid rate is the maximum rate at which the pump must operate.
Qdesign = 100*Qact/ η
Where,
3
Qdesign = Design Pumping Rate (m /day or bbls/day)
3
Qact = Required Fluid Rate (m /day or bbls/day)
η= Volumetric Pump Efficiency

3. Minimum Required Pump Displacement

The design fluid rate is higher than the actual fluid rate due to pumping inefficiencies.
Vmin = Qdesign/N
Where,
 3
Vmin = Minimum Required Pump Displacement (m /day/rpm or bbls/day/rpm)
3
Qdesign = Design Pump Rate (m /day or bbls/day)
N = Pump Rotational Speed (rpm)

B) System Design Pressure:

1. Net Lift
The minimum required pressure capability is determined by the net lift requirements of the pump
and is the difference between discharge and intake pressures.
Plift = Pdischarge - Pintake
here,
Plift = Net Lift Required (KPa or psi)
Pdischarge = Pump Discharge Pressure (KPa or psi)
Pintake = Pump Intake Pressure (KPa or psi)

2. Pump Intake Pressure

Pump intake pressure is a function of the casing head pressure plus pressures due to the gas and
liquid column above the pump intake in the casing/tubing annulus.
Pintake = Pchp + Pgas + Pliquid

Where,
Pintake = Pump Intake Pressure (KPa or psi)
Pchp = Casing Head Pressure (KPa of psi)
Pgas = Gas Column Pressure (KPa or psi)
Pliquid = Liquid Column Pressure (KPa or psi)

3. Pump Discharge Pressure

The pump discharge pressure is the sum of tubing head pressure, flow losses and hydrostatic pressure
due to the liquid column in the tubing.

Pdischarge = Pthp + Pliquid + Plosses

Where,
Pdischarge = Pump Discharge Pressure (KPa or psi)
Pthp = Tubing Head Pressure (KPa or psi)
Pliquid = Liquid Column Pressure (KPa or psi)
Plosses = Tubing Flow Losses (KPa or psi)

4. Gas or Liquid Column Pressure

Pressure exerted by a gas or liquid column can be calculated by:
Pcolumn = H C
Where,
Pcolumn = Gas or Liquid Column Pressure (KPa or psi)
H = Vertical Column Height (m or ft)
3 3
= Fluid or Gas Density (kg/m or lbs/ft )
C =Constant (SI: 9.81E-3 Imperial: 6.94E-3)

6) TORQUE AND POWER REQUIREMENTS:

A) Torque
Torque can be defined as the energy required to turn the rotor and move the fluid against a
pressure.
Pump torque is comprised of a hydraulic and friction component.

Frictional Torque
Friction torque is the energy required to overcome the interference fit between the rotor and
stator. Friction torque is dependent on interference fit, type of rotor coating, stator elastomer,
lubricating properties of the fluid and pump length.

Hydraulic Torque
Hydraulic torque is directly proportional to differential pressure and pump displacement.

Thydraulic = CVPlift
Where,
Thydraulic = Hydraulic Pump Torque (N.m or ft.lbs)
3
V = Pump Displacement (m /day/rpm or bbls/day/rpm)
Plift = Differential Pump Displacement (KPa or psi)
C = Constant (SI: 0.111 Imperial: 8.97E-2)
Conversion: 1.355 N.m/fl.lb
Thus the total pump torque is-

Ttotal = Thydraulic + Tfriction

Ttotal = Total Pump Torque (N.m or ft.lbs)

Tfriction = Pump Friction Torque (N.m or ft.lbs)
B) Power
The power required to drive the pump is a function of total pump torque.

Ppump = CTtotalN

Where,

Ppump = Pump Power (kW or hp)

Ttotal = Total Pump Torque (N.m or ft.lbs)
N = Pump Rotational Speed (rpm)
C = Constant (SI: 1.05E-4 Imperial: 1.91E-4)

7) SPECIFICATIONS OF PCPs USED IN SOHAGPUR:

Depending upon the dewatering requirement, the following PCP models were used in CBM
project, Shahdol

 60TP1300-This model can give flow rate of 12 m3/day at zero head and 100 rpm and can
be operated for the differential head of 1300 m.
  100TP1200-This model can give flow rate of 20 m3/day at zero head and 100 rpm and
can be operated for the differential head of 1200 m.
 300TP1200-This model can give flow rate of 60 m3/day at zero head and 100 rpm and
can be operated for the differential head of 1200 m.
 400TP900-This model can give flow rate of 80 m3 /day at zero head and 100 rpm and can
be operated for the differential head of 900 m.

The pumps (manufactured by KUDU Industries Inc.) which are being used currently -

 76K900- This model can give flow rate of 76 m3/day at 100 rpm and zero head. Head
rating is 900 m.
 76K1200- This model can give flow rate of 76 m 3/day at 100 rpm and zero head. Head
rating is 1200 m.
 33K900- This model can give flow rate of 33 m3/day at 100 rpm and zero head. Head
rating is 900 m.
 33K1200- This model can give flow rate of 33 m 3/day at 100 rpm and zero head. Head
rating is 1200 m.

8) OPTIMIZATION OF PUMP INTAKE DEPTH:

The Pump intake depth is kept above the Top Perforation in the initial dewatering stage. This is
done since there is a high chance of the Hydraulic Fracturing sand flow back into the well bore.
Thus, if the PID is kept lower then there will be frequent workover operations required to clean
the sand column. Moreover, there will be a high chance of the pump getting stuck in the sand
column and being lost as fish since we cannot wash-out the sand accumulated around the pump
due to higher Pump outer diameter.

On average a 70 m sump has been drilled below the Bottom Perforation in the SW Wells
completed in phase 1. This has been done for the express purpose of accumulating the solids
flowing from the reservoir into the well. There are two major contributing seams in SW wells.
Seam V and Seam III. The top perforation is generally at Seam V, while Seam III is present
between the Top and Bottom perforations. So, once there is significant gas breakout in the well,
there is a very high chance of gas intake through the pump. This creates a gas lift effect, as is
observed by the low torque values experienced in the pumps installed in these wells. PCP’s are
designed to handle around 30% gas intake, but if this gas quantity increases then it leads to gas
permeation in the pump elastomer as well as elastomer swelling resulting in spikes in torque
trend. Additionally, the dewatering is extremely inefficient in such cases.

Thus the PID has to be lowered to below Seam III in Stage 2. This is done to offset the harmful
effect of high gas intake through the pump while at the same time allowing for a sufficient sump
of around 100-150 m range to accommodate the sand flow back in the well bore. On the basis of
field observation, it is believed that around 5% of the sand placed in the well during hydraulic
fracturing operations will flow out during the initial life cycle of the well. To put this into
perspective, we place 7000 m equivalent of sand column in a 5.5 in casing into a well on
average, so by expecting a 5% flow back, the well will accumulate a sand column of around 350
m before the sand influx reduces significantly. This will need an average of around 3 work over
jobs to clear sand. So at this stage we need to maintain a balance between reducing the gas intake
through the pump while at the same time providing more sump for sand fill up in the well bore to
avoid frequent work over jobs.

In Stage 3, when we see that approximately around 350 m of sand column has been cleaned from
the well we can safely lower the PID in most wells to 20 m below the bottom perforation. Doing
this still accounts for a 50 m sump on average.

9) OPTIMIZATION OF PUMP RPM:

The ideal water level drop rate prescribed by the subsurface team is in the range of 5 to 10
m/day. Targeting higher dewatering rates will create additional differential pressure on the coal
seams and may result in increased solids influx into the well bore. This will lead to frequent
work over jobs. On the other hand, if lower dewatering rates are achieved it will result in sub
optimal dewatering causing delayed gas desorption from coal seams.

It is recommended to ramp up or ramp down RPM’s in steps of 20 to minimize the risk of

sudden pressure shocks to the reservoir and allow for better monitoring of reservoir response to
the changing dewatering rates. Scheduled visit to every well site within a week and collection of
the water level and water rate data by physical measurement methods is done by the production
team.

There are two data sources on the basis of which the water level is determined and ultimately the
pump RPM is optimized –Water Level by Echo Gun, Corrected water level by Algorithm,
Torque derived water levels – CFER simulated charts

It has been observed that the water level obtained by the Echo gun typically has an error margin
due to two factors – noise and two phase column consisting of gas and water in the annulus. This
is due to the fact that acoustic waves return from the top of the two phase column. Thus there is a
need to correct the water level measured by echo gun by making use of correlation for two phase
column. It is also necessary to cross check the corrected water level with torque derived water
level to ensure correction of error in water level due to noise, if any. Once the actual water level
is determined, then the water level drop rates are calculated and then changes are made by
increasing or decreasing the RPM.

The other factors which influence RPM are gas intake through pump and sand produced on
surface. In cases where the pump intake is above Seam 3, there is a very high chance of gas
intake through the pump. When there is gas intake through the pump, it simulates a gas lift effect
which results in abnormally low values of torque being observed. This is direct effect of less
power required by the motor to lift the water from the well bore as its job is being done by the
gas providing artificial support.

If the PID was kept above Seam 3 in wells, there was a very high sand column being tagged in
workover jobs and thus it was decided to typically allow for 150 m sump in these wells to
prevent frequent W/O jobs. Installing a gas anchor will prove counterproductive in such cases as
it will get clogged up with the solids and result in pump starvation. One way forward can be the
use of tailpipe to increase the intake to below Seam 3 which will limit the gas intake while at the
same allow for a sufficient sump for solids settlement.

When the well has been significantly dewatered, the pump submergence will decrease.
According to the pump performance charts supplied by the pump manufacturer, the discharge of
the pump will decrease as the submergence decreases due to pump slippage. This effect begins to
be seen when the submergence goes below 150 m. This would amount to pump starvation.
Moreover, if the pump submergence goes below 75 m, there is a very high risk of the pump
getting burnt due to dry run. Thus in these cases it is recommended to reduce the RPM. In some
wells this has also resulted in increased THP on the surface, which is also indicative of better
pump discharge performance.

10) PUMP SIZING:

In a CBM well the water influx rates from the reservoir are the highest at the start of well life and
gradually decreases with time.

pumps can be run at a maximum speed of 500 and a minimum speed of 50 as per the pump
manufacturer. However, practically speaking, pumps installed in wells tend to show stick slip
effect if the RPM is reduced below 80. The higher RPM range is dependent upon the pulley
ratio. This is detailed in the table below:

Maximum Motor RPM Pulley Ratio Maximum Pump RPM

1500 3.5 428
1500 4.7 319
1500 6.2 242

On the higher side, the maximum RPM has been capped at 250 due to tubing integrity issues
experienced. Thus, realistically the RPM’s range between 80-250 across the field.

Keeping these RPM ranges in mind, the pump sizing is optimized for target dewatering rates.

Since the water rates are highest at the start of well life, the pump to be installed in the well is
dependent on the water rate it can produce at 250 RPM. By following this methodology, the
same pump can be utilized over a continued time period by progressively decreasing the RPMs.
This results in lower dewatering rates which will match the reduced water influx into the
wellbore from the reservoir and still enable us to maintain the targeted W/L drop rates of around
5 m/day.

Now, in cases where the water level drop rates exceed 5 m/day even at 80 RPM, the pump is
downsized. Due to very high water level drop rates, the pump submergence gets reduced rapidly
and there is a high chance of both pump burnout plus solids influx because of significant
pressure differential being created across the coal seams.Thus, in downsizing the pump, these
points need to be taken into active consideration –Targeted dewatering rate to achieve W/L drop
rates of 5 m/day.Pump inventory available.
3
For example, if dewatering the well at 50 m /day will allows in achieving drop rates of 5 m/day,
3 3
then options of going in with either a 15 m /day or a 33 m /day pump must be considered. The
smaller pump will be able to deliver the water rates at higher RPM’s. The pumps are downsized
3
in order of decreasing dewatering capacity. E.g. 76 to 33 to 15 m /day.

11) OPERATIONAL ISSUES IN PCP:

The rotor of a progressive cavity pump consists of two parts:

 The rotor base metal
 The coating (hard chrome plating)

The stator of a progressive cavity pump consists of three parts:

 A steel tube
 A bonding system (glue)
 An elastomer contour

Under certain circumstances, failures may occur which are related to one of these two
components.

Rotor failure modes:

Sr No. Failure Type Visual Signs Possible Causes Potential Solution
1. Rotor surface Checkered 1. Heat 1. Lowering the pump
checking pattern 2. Lack of 2. Operate at lower
lubrication RPM
3. Wear 3. Install perforated
tag sub
2. Abrasion / Scoring Score marks 1. Solids 1. Operate at lower
RPM
2. Install extended
slotted tag-sub
3. Base metal wear Worn surface 1. Sharp flat edges 1. Re-evaluate space-
coating due to metal to out
metal contact 2. Install larger
2. Smooth edges displacement pump &
due to prolonged lower the RPM
operation in
abrasive
environment.
4. Bent Rotor Rotor is bent 1. Improper 1. Ensure proper pull-
handling out & pull-in
2. Proper lifting &
handling of rotor
5. Broken Rotor Rough jagged Due to high 1. Install extended
(Torsional) surface torsional stress slotted tag bar
throughout the caused by 2. Perform
cross section of 1. Solid entering compatibility test with
rotor the pump stator
2. Swelling of 3. Operate it at lower
stator RPM
3. Pump-off 4. Install larger
4. Overpressuring pressure rated pump
the pump 5. Install high torque
5. Operating it on shutdown VFD
the tag bar
6. Pitting Small dimpling 1. Presence of 1. Proper flushing
on the rotor corrosive after acid based work-
substances over
2. Add corrosion
inhibitor
3. Rotor with better
corrosion resistance
7. Broken rotor Flat, smooth 1. A continuous 1. Install the smaller
(Fatigue) surface across torque and release pump and operate it at
the cross- of the pump higher RPM
sectional area 2. Long run life at 2. Use larger pump at
 higher RPM low RPM
3. Large space out 3. Re-evaluation of
and rotor is running the space-out
in smaller ID 4. Move the pump
4. Landing in and use pup joint to
highly deviated land it in tangent
section section
8. Worn Tag bar Tag bar will If the patterns are 1. Re-evaluate space-
have a flattered in out
pin & worn 1. Clockwise 2. Check whether
rotor bottom direction higher strength rods
-Due to improper are needed
space out

Tab 4. Rotor Failure Modes

Stator failure modes:

Sr No. Failure Type Visual Signs Possible Causes Potential Solution

1. Stators burnt Elastomer is Excessive heat due 1. Install pump or tail
elastomer hardened on the to joints below the
contact surface 1. Gas perforation
of the stator & 2. Swelling of 2. Perform
Smell like burnt elastomer compatibility test with
rubber 3. Pump off wellbore fluid on
elastomer
3. Operate it at lower
RPM
2. Blisters Blisters on the 1. Gas enters the 1. Lower the pump
surface of stator elastomer under 2. Increase trip time
when it is high pressure
brought to the 2. When pump is
surface shut down in low
fluid level.
3. Missing elastomer Large pieces are 1. Exceeded over 1. Install pump with
(Large pieces) missing from pressure rating higher pressure rating
elastomer 2. Large solids 2. Install slotted
3. Pump off screen
3. Operate it at lower
RPM
4. Missing elastomer Missing pieces 1. Solids 1. Install slotted
(Small pieces) of elastomer 2. Pump off screen
throughout the 2. Operate it at lower
stator RPM
5. Swollen elastomer Smaller ID & 1.Aromatics such 1. Perform
 High torque as benzene, toluene compatibility test with
& xylene and wellbore fluid on
Other incompatible elastomer
chemicals injected 2. Lower the pump or
in the wellbore install gas separator
2.Gas entering the
elastomer & CO2
6. Debonded Long intact 1. Improper 1. High strength
elastomer pieces of bonding agent bonding agent
elastomer & 2. Extreme heat 2.
clean inner wall due to - Higher temp. rated
of the surface - High bottom hole elastomer
temperature - Pump lowering or
- Improper working operate it at lower
of pump RPM
7. Scoring / Abrasion Score marks 1. Solid travelling 1. Install slotted
along the through pump screen
surface 2. Higher RPM 2. Install a larger
displacement pump
and operate it at lower
RPM
8. Perforation wash The outer steel 1. Flow of solids, 1. Lift the pump
surface of stator gas, and high above perforation
will look worm pressure fluid 2. Install tail pipe
9. High pressure Worm like 1. High pressure 1. Install a pump with
jetting grooves cut in fluid sipping within an increased no. of
the direction the pump. stages
opposite to the 2. Re-evaluate the
flow pump efficiency
10. Rotor head running Damaged top of 1. Improper space- 1. Re-evaluate space-
in stator the stator out out height

Tab 5. Stator Failure Modes

Fig 16: Drive head of PC-pump
 CHAPTER IV
1) PCP TORQUE CALCULATION
FORMULAS USED:

The total pump torque is-

Ttotal = Thydraulic + Tfriction

Where,

Thydraulic = CVPlift

C = consant = 0.111 for SI units

3
V = Pump Displacement (m /day/rpm)

Plift = Pdischarge - Pintake

Pdischarge = Pthp + Pliquid in tubing + Plosses

Pintake = Pchp + Pgas + Pliquid

Here,
Pthp = Tubing Head Pressure = 2 bar = 200 KPa
Pchp = Casing Head Pressure = 8 bar = 800 KPa
Plosses = Assumed to be zero

And,

Tfriction = 108 KPa

(as given by the manufacturer)
Well I

Pump Intake Depth = 405.64m

Water Level = 65m
Total Depth = 903.93m
Pump Used = 76K900

Pthp = 800 KPa

Pliquid in tubing = ρ *g*H

1000 * 9.81 * 713.76 = 3979328.4 Pa = 3979.3284 KPa

Plosses =0

Pdischarge = 800 + 3979.3284 + 0 = 4779.3284 KPa

Pchp = 200KPa

Pgas = ρ *g*H
0.8 * 9.81 * 65 = 510.12 Pa = 0.51 KPa

Pwater = ρ *g*H
1000 * 9.81 * (405.64 - 65) = 3341678.4 Pa = 3341.6784 KPa

Pintake = 200 + 0.51 + 3341.6784 = 3542.1884 KPa

Plift = Pdischarge - Pintake

= 4779.3284 – 3542.1884 = 1237.14 KPa

Thydraulic = C*V*Plift
3
= 0.111 * 0.76 m /day/rpm * 1237.14 KPa
= 104.365 N.m

Tfriction = 108 N.m

Total Torque = Thydraulic + Tfriction

= 104.365 + 108 = 212.365 Nm
Well II

Pump Intake Depth = 713.76m

Water Level = 462m
Total Depth = 776.61m
Pump Used = 33K1200

Pthp = 800 KPa

Pliquid in tubing = ρ *g*H

1000 * 9.81 * 713.76 = 7001985.6 Pa = 7001.9856 KPa

Plosses =0

Pdischarge = 800 + 7001.9856 + 0 = 7801.9856 KPa

Pchp = 200KPa

Pgas = ρ *g*H
0.8 * 9.81 * 462 = 3625.776 Pa = 3.625 KPa

Pwater = ρ *g*H
1000 * 9.81 * (713.76 - 462) = 2469765.6 Pa = 2469.7656 KPa

Pintake = 200 + 3.625 + 2469.7656 = 2673.3906 KPa

Plift = Pdischarge - Pintake

= 7801.9856 – 2673.3906 = 5128.595 KPa

Thydraulic = C*V*Plift
3
= 0.111 * 0.33 m /day/rpm * 5128.595 = 187.8604 KPa
= 187.8604 N.m

Tfriction = 108 N.m

Total Torque = Thydraulic + Tfriction

 = 187.8604 + 108
= 295.8604 N.m
Well III

Pump Intake Depth = 697.28m

Water Level = 210m
Total Depth = 754.31m
Pump Used = 76K1200

Pthp = 800 KPa

Pliquid in tubing = ρ *g*H

1000 * 9.81 * 697.28 = 6840316 Pa = 6840.3168 KPa

Plosses =0

Pdischarge = 800 + 6840.3168 + 0 = 7640.3168 KPa

Pchp = 200KPa

Pgas = ρ *g*H
0.8 * 9.81 * 210 = 1648.08 Pa = 1.648 KPa

Pwater = ρ *g*H
1000 * 9.81 * (697.28 - 210) = 4780216.8 Pa = 4780.2168 KPa

Pintake = 200 + 1.648 + 4780.2168 = 4981.8648 KPa

Plift = Pdischarge - Pintake

= 7640.3168 – 4981.8648 = 2658.452 KPa

Thydraulic = C*V*Plift
3
= 0.111 * 0.76 m /day/rpm * 2658.452 KPa
= 224.267 N.m

Tfriction = 108 N.m

Total Torque = Thydraulic + Tfriction
= 224.267 + 108
= 332.267 N.m
Well IV

Pump Intake Depth = 469.9m

Water Level = 303m
Total Depth = 541.4m
Pump Used = 33K900

Pthp = 800 KPa

Pliquid in tubing = ρ *g*H

1000 * 9.81 * 469.9 = 4609719 Pa = 4609.719 KPa

Plosses =0

Pdischarge = 800 + 4679.719 + 0 = 5409.719 KPa

Pchp = 200KPa

Pgas = ρ *g*H
0.8 * 9.81 * 303 = 2377.944 Pa = 2.378 KPa

Pwater = ρ *g*H
1000 * 9.81 * (469.9-303) = 1637289 Pa = 1637.289 KPa

Pintake = 200 + 2.378 + 1637.289 = 1839.667 KPa

Plift = Pdischarge - Pintake

= 5409.719 – 1839.667 = 3570.052 KPa

Thydraulic = C*V*Plift
3
= 0.111 * 0.33 m /day/rpm * 3570.052 KPa
= 130.771 N.m
Tfriction = 108 N.m

Total Torque = Thydraulic + Tfriction

= 130.771 + 108
= 238.771 N.m
 CHAPTER V

1) WORKOVER OPERATIONS:

Introduction:

Workover refers to any kind of well intervention involving invasive techniques, such as wireline,
coiled tubing or snubbing. It can also be described as the process of performing major
maintenance or remedial treatment on a oil or gas well. In all the operations in the CBM block
pump is required to stop and in some of the operations downhole pump is to be retrieved. The
operations necessary to retrieve a downhole pump and/or sucker rod string for replacement or
repair. If a tubing-retrievable pump is used, you must pull the tubing string. However, if an insert
pump is used, you may retrieve the pump by pulling the rods. You can retrieve the rotor from a
progressing cavity (PC) pump by pulling the rods, but to retrieve the stator from a PC pump, you
must pull the tubing string.

Drawwork specifications of typical Workover rig at the CBM block:

 Max rotational speed: 550 rpm

 Drum size: 345 mm
 Max. Weight: 2392 kg
 Max. Fast line tension: 80 kN
 Wireline diameter: Φ22 mm

Reasons to perform a workover:

 Sand gets accumulated in the stator resulting into high torque and stator is required to be
cleaned (flushing).
 Sucker rod may fail, either breaks down or unscrews, or the tubing may unscrew, leading
to a need of fishing operation.
 The pump may be required to be lowered owing to the changing water level condition.
 Sand may be accumulated in the wellbore reducing the depth of the well, leading to a
need of sand wash.
 Downhole components such as tubing, rotor, stator or NTT may have malfunctioned.
 Changing reservoir conditions can make the former completion unsuitable, in case of
which workover is required.

Parameter Causes Workover type

Low water head in the Downsize The Pump

Annulus
Sand Production Increases Sand Cleaning

High Torque Gas Influx In Tubing Lower the PID

Elastomer Swelling Downsizing Rotor (Slim Hole

Rotor)
Pump Unscrewed Fishing

Sucker Rod Unscrew Fishing

Low Torque Tubing / Sucker Rod Shear Fishing

(Mostly Means Fishing)
NTT Fail Change NTT – Fishing

Low Production Tubing Puncture Replace Tubing

Table 6: Need to perform workover

2) TYPES OF WORKOVER:

1) Pump downsizing and replacing the 2M (threaded) type Wellhead with 5M

(flanged) type:
In this case, PCP, which is initially started at 100 RPM with initial torque of 37%, is observed to
produce no water at the surface when tubing valve was throttled to bleed off gas from the tubing.
The torque rises to around 110%. PCP is then stopped and tubing valve closed. The most
probable cause is that the water head in the annulus is dropping below the pump specifications. It
is suggested to replace the pump to lower flow rate specifications so that the water level is
maintained.

Steps taken to downsize the pump, for instance from 76K900 to 15K900:

 Bled-off annular from 150 psi to 0 psi.

 Checked annular pressure: 0 psi. Released polished rod. Forward circulation prior to
nipple down Drivehead. LEL=0%, H2S=0 ppm.
 Nipple down Drivehead. Nipple up sucker rod BOP.
 Pull out 76K900 rotor + 46 no. of sucker rod + 1 no. 6’ pony rod + 22 spindles
centralizers + 1 shear pin retrieved rotor of 76K900.
 Circulation prior to nipple up BOP.
 Nipple down wellhead slips & seal.
 Nipple up BOP.
 Pull out 8 nos. of 2 7/8” EUE tubings, further pull out pump.
 POOH further 30 (Total 38) nos. of 2 7/8” EUE tubings + 76K900 stator assembly.
Retrieved stator.
 Nipple down BOP.
 Nipple down 2M checknut type wellhead assembly.
 Nipple up 7” casing coupling. (Applied LA-CO; Heavy duty thread sealing compound).
 Nipple up 5M flange type wellhead assembly.
 Nipple up BOP.
 Run in cup tester, wellhead & BOP @ 200 psi for 5 min & 1000 psi for 20 mins, found
no leakage from anywhere & pressure holding.
 Run in 15K900 KUDU stator (new) assembly + 38 nos. of 2 7/8” EUE tubings.
 Circulation prior to nipple down BOP.
 Nipple down BOP.
  Set NTT @ 369.88 m, PID @ 371.51 m. Nipple up tubing hanger flange.
 Run in 15K900 rotor.
 Run in 48 nos. of 1” sucker rod + 15K900 KUDU rotor (new) & tagged stop bushing.
 Space-out done. Total: 15K900 KUDU rotor + 46 nos. of sucker rods + 8’ pony rods + 2’
pony rods + 23 spindles/centralizers.
 Nipple down sucker rod BOP. Nipple up Drivehead.
 Make up surface connections.
 Electrical connection done.
 Start-up parameters @ 100 RPM:
a. Current: 13.5 A
b. Freq.: 15.6 Hz
c. Torque: 12.4%
d. Flow rate: 14 LPM
2) Sand wash and Flushing Operation:

This operation is mainly used to remove sand which obstructs the proper working of a well. The
sand can be proppants used to hold the fracture open or it can be sand produced during
production. Sand wash and flushing differ from each other because sand wash cleans the well
from sand which is accumulated in the sump (extra depth drilled in a well), and flushing is the
cleaning of stator to continue its smooth operations. CBM field requires Hydraulic Mill
Fracturing of the coal seam to initiate the production of gas. After the HF operation it becomes
necessary to clean the well from the sand and sand wash is applied. During the production stage
of a well, it may indicate high torque due to sand production, and its accumulation over the
stator. In that case flushing is done to clean the stator and again continue its smooth operation.

Reasons for performing Flushing/Sand wash:

 After Hydraulic fracturing of the formation, the sand (proppant) gets accumulated in the
sump.
 During production the sand produces gradually and starts collecting or sticking to the
stator leading to high torque
 Incompetent formation can lead to sand production resulting in high torque.
  High flow rate (by high rpm or high pitch of the rotor) can result in high production of
sand and its accumulation.
 Quality of stator can matter at some point of time, if the stator attracts produced sand
particles then accumulation increases and high torque results.
 Loose or tight fit matters as loose fit can let sand to be produced at the surface whereas
tight fit traps those sand particles.

Stepwise Operation to perform Flushing/Sand Wash:

 Plan the flushing or sand wash program on basis of data available and the requirement of
the above mentioned process.
 Decommission the wellhead over which flushing/ sand wash is to be done, put it in a safe
place.
 Install all the required instruments, the tanker carrying water and all the required
equipments for flushing operations.
 Commission the workover rig for the operation.
 Lift the rotor above the stator for passing the water through it and into the formation or to
clean the sump and bring it to the surface, (flushing or sand wash respectively)
 Connect the pipeline from the tanker to the tubing inlet from the flow tee.
 In case of flushing, pump in the fluid at atmospheric pressure.
 In case of sand wash connect another pipe at the annulus, and with pressure pump in the
fluid from the tubing.
 Lower the rotor again into the stator and commission the well head over the well and
continue production from the well.

Sand Cleaning by Circulation Method:

Steps taken to clean the sand using circulation:

 The tubular to be used for sand cleaning should be measured and a tally should be
prepared.
 The threads on both box and pin ends should be cleaned and put the thread protector on
the pin end.
 Measure the length of the sharp edge tool and add it with the tubular tally.
 MU the sharp edge tool with first single to be lowered.
 Place the first single on the catwalk and lower the elevator and latch it and raise the
travelling block.
 Lower it inside the well till the box is around 6 feet above the slip.
 Rest the string on slip and detach the elevator.
 Latch the elevator with the next single and pick it up.
 Make up the pin end of the lifted single with the box end using chain tong or monkey
tong.
 Apply recommended grease or dope on the tool joints while lowering.
 Similarly lower the remaining singles and continue RIH and tag the sand. Note down the
depth.
 After sand tag, pick up the string and retag to ensure the sand top.
 After confirmation of sand top, rest the string on slip.
 If the box end is at an approachable height then NU the circulation head. If not then pull
out one more single and lay down the same.
 Line up the mud pump with circulation head.
 Start circulation with clean water and start clearing the sand. Wait for the returns with
sand.
 Clear the sand with flow rate > 100 GPM for 5 1/2” casing and > 175 GPM for 7” casing.
 Once one single is cleared down the hole, continue to circulate till return is free of sand
then only the next single should be added.
 Clear the sand down to the desired depth (float collar)
 Circulate at bottom two casing volume with clean water.
 ND the circulation head and latch the elevator with the string and pull out 10 singles.
 Give observation of 1 hour and RI again to retag sand and clean if any found. If sand
column is > 10 m after observation, repeat sand observation after cleaning.
 Circulate at bottom two casing volume with clean water.
 Latch the elevator with the string and POOH.
  If the desired depth is not achieved and observed hard bottom during sand cleaning,
inform Shahdol base office for further proceedings and may be advised to do a TCR bit
trip for sand cleaning.
 If TCR bit is used for cleaning hard bottom, make up the bit with the first single and tag
the hard bottom by RIH as per the above steps.
 NU power swivel with the string and clear the hard bottom with rotation and circulation.
 If circulation is not established or well is with a heavy loss zone, sand bailer has to be
used for sand cleaning.

Sand Bailer Operation:

The Sand Bailer is a tubing assisted tool used to remove sand or small pieces of junk from the
casing. The Sand Bailer is a pump-type tool which operates on the principle of a conventional lift
pump with piston.

The Sand Bailer consists of a piston and check valve encased in an outer cylinder, At the lower
end of the bailer there is a ball check valve or flapper type valve, which allows sand and debris to
enter the bailer tube. By lightly stroking up and down with the wireline tool string the bailer acts
to suck sand and debris into the cylinder through the ball or flapper bottom and trapping the
substances inside the tube. Various bottom shoe sizes and configurations, as well as extension
tubes for the Sand Bailer are available on request.

Fig 17: Sand Bailer

Steps undertaken for a successful sand cleaning operation using sand bailer:

 Check the work over history of the well for any water loss or unable to establish
circulation in the previous work overs. If observed so we should use sand bailer for sand
cleaning instead of going for a sharp edge / TCR bit trip.
 Service the sand bailer assembly before R/I.
 M/Up standing valve / NRV with bottom most load pipe.
 R/I desired no’s of tubings as load pipes (load pipe – 3 to 6 no’s as per requirement).
 M/Up sand bailer with load pipe.
 Surface test sand bailer before lowering into hole. Proper movement of sand bailer piston
should be observed.
 Once surface test is OK. Run sand bailer to desired depth (Either D/Ps or Tubings can be
used).
 Slowly run the last pipe to observe minimum sand tag.
 Put horizontal mark on the string at tag point.
 Lift the string by 1.5 meters.
 Run again to tag sand. Observe horizontal mark lowered than previous depth. Put another
mark at new depth.
 Repeat the above last three steps until string stops to go down any further (Add new D/P
or tubing if required).
 Stop Sand bailer operation. Check string weight (should be slightly more than that of start
of operation).
 Complete the POOH.
 Observe for the sand recovered in load pipes. Collect sand sample.
 If the sand column inside the well still persists then repeat the above steps.
 Fig 18: Sand Cleaning operation by sand bailer

3) Fishing:

Operation and various tools used the term fishing applies to all operations concerned with the
retrieving of equipment or other objects from the hole. Portions of the drill string, bit, drill string
accessories, and inadvertently dropped hand tools are typical items which may require fishing.
The most common fishing job is that recovering of a portion of the drill string left in the hole due
to either its failing or becoming stuck. Reasons for fishing operation to be carried out:
 High torque due to sand or stator swelling, can lead to breakage of sucker rod, which
needs to be fished out
 Sucker rod may be unscrewed due to jerk on it or loose joint connection.
 The tubing may be unscrewed due to failure of No Turn Tool (NTT) and continuous
rotation of sucker rod, giving opening turns to tubing.
 Downhole Failure of drill string at the point of weakest joint.
 Overload of the string, due to overestimation of the used string.
  Parting of drill string due to excess overpulling of equipment.
 Mechanical failure of bit.
 Accidental drop of small equipments or foreign materials into the wellbore.

In CBM blocks, fishing is required mainly during the production stage, when the tubing or
sucker rod fails due to high or low torque. Fishing is the only solution to such failures. The main
fishing operations observed here are mainly using same sized tubing or rod to recover the
unscrewed tubular. If a sucker rod is unscrewed, rod is lowered into the borehole and rotated
over the failed rod to catch it by the thread and thus recovered by pulling out. If a sucker rod is
broken due to high torque, the tubing is pulled out along with which the rod is recovered, and it
is pulled out of the tubing on the surface. If a tubing can’t be recovered by same sized threads, a
mill taper is used to form thread inside the tube and then pulled out. Mill Taper is discussed in
the below section. Other fishing occurs during drilling failures, and the fish is recovered by
appropriate fishing tool used in oilfield operations.

Stepwise Operations for performing Fishing:

 Plan the fishing operation on basis of the type of fish and prevelant conditions.
 Decommission the wellhead over which fishing is to be done, put it in a safe place.
 Install the workover rig, whose selection depends on depth of the well, weight of the
string to be pulled and availability of workover rig.
 Lower the string of appropriate size, till the depth above the top of unscrewed tubing.
 Support the string on the fish, and when the load gauge shows low load, rotate the string
to catch the tubing.
 Once the thread are made, the tubing is ready to be pulled out, (if tubing is not caught in
this way, mill taper should be used at the bottom)
 After pulling the string out, again install the pump, tubing, sucker rod and the drive head
to continue production.
 SECTION VI

CONCLUSION:

Potential problems associated with CBM and their possible

solutions

1) Failure in Attainment of Continuous Dewatering:

It is believed that if continuous dewatering without any failures is achieved in CBM fields, then
the gas will automatically be smoothly produced in an economic manner. But some temporary
mechanical failures hamper the functioning of the completion equipment. This leads to
decreased or ceased production which brings out the need of workover throughout the life of the
well.

Some of the examples of workover are:

(i) Pump Failure

(ii) High torque
(iii) Sucker Rod Snapped
(iv) Tubing Puncture
(v) Tubing Snapped
(vi) Tubing Unscrew
(vii) Sucker Rod Unscrew
(viii) Change of Pump Position
(ix) Sand Production
(x) Scaling

Solution:
Eliminating workover is an impossible target but it can definitely be reduced. Some of the
suggested methods are:
  Optimizing production keeping in mind the abrasive resistance of the elastomer is
necessary because if a high percentage of sand is pumped out continuously, it may lead
to abrasive wear of the rotor and stator. Adding additional seal lines reduces the
pressure per sealed cavity which reduces the effect of abrasives.

 Running a pump with larger displacement per RPM and lower pump speed
reduces velocity of the particles within the pump preventing abrasive wear.

 The well must be properly swabbed after acid job till the pH of the fluid is back to
its original level to avoid acid attack on the rotor and stator.

 Proper space-out is mandatory keeping in mind every small factor to avoid the
pump locking up and other torsional stresses.

 To avoid elastomer swell, dry run and burning of the elastomer due to friction,
the selection of pump model, elastomer-fluid compatibility check and PID selection must
be appropriate so that
frequent changes. To achieve this, a complete study of bottom-hole temperature, % free
gas, gas composition must be known. Also, the producing fluid level of the pump needs
monitoring.

 If dry run is the result of high percentages of free gas, lowering the pump setting
depth or running a gas anchor will limit the gas entry.

 There are some mechanical failures like tubing punctures and sucker rods being
worn out, and to reduce this, centralizers should be used for each sucker rod and the
pump should be operated at an optimum RPM which will decrease the vibrations.

2) Sand Production:

The CBM wells need to be continuously dewatered in order to produce natural gas. All the wells
are hydraulically fractured, and proppants are pumped during the job to keep the fractures open.
During the flow of water from these fractures in the production phase, some of this proppant
comes along with the water and settles in the sump. As this sand level increases and reaches the
pump intake depth, it hampers the water production and may also wear out the pump. Therefore,
such sand production requires frequent workover jobs, which in itself is a big constraint.

Solution:
As the permeability even after the HF job is low, therefore gravel packing cannot be used. The
only changes which we can make are:

(i) increasing the total depth of the well i.e. the sump
(ii) using resin coated proppants or sand wedge so that they bind the near well bore
proppants and prevent them from accumulating in the sump, thereby reducing the
sand production.

3) Formation with Low Permeability:

The permeability of unconventional gas resources like CBM is extremely low i.e. below 0.1 mD.
Therefore, it becomes mandatory to hydraulically fracture the coal seams and increase their
permeability in order to create paths for the gas to flow. These fractures propagate perpendicular
to the plane with lowest stresses and parallel to the plane of highest stress. Due to poor
cementing, the chances of channelling are increased during the hydraulic fracturing job. Also, if
there is an insufficient knowledge about the stress profile of the formation, the fracture might
propagate in the vertical direction which may connect the coal seam and the overlying or
underlying formation. If this formation is a water bearing sandstone, then this might lead to
continuous dewatering without any gas production as the pressure won’t get decreased till the
critical value for desorption.

Hydraulic fracturing pumps a mixture of heavy chemicals, water, sand and/or other materials
down an extraction well under extremely high pressure in order to achieve the desired fracturing.
Hydraulic Fracturing raises serious concerns because of the chemicals being used and their
impact on the local ecology. If the coal bed aquifer is tributary to surface water or other
groundwater aquifers, chemical contamination can spread into domestic, agricultural, and
industrial water supplies. Because hydraulic fracturing typically precedes the water extraction
phase, much of the fracturing fluid will be pumped out of the aquifer along with the bulk of the
groundwater. Where surface discharge is used to dispose of the extracted groundwater, the
fracturing fluid is discharged along with the groundwater directly into local waterways,
potentially contaminating water sources relied upon by local communities. It has been seen that
many of the chemicals used for HF are highly toxic, water soluble, volatile, and highly mobile.
Coal bed aquifers often contain potable or high-quality water and the injection of fracturing
fluids into such water sources can permanently contaminate a viable source of water.

Solution:
To prevent such a loss of investment and causing harm to the environment, pre-frac tests need to
be done on each well to get a better knowledge about the stress orientation of the coal seams in
order to plan the HF job in a much more effective and productive manner.

4) Water Influx During Drilling:

Water bearing zones are frequently encountered while drilling. In unconventional fields with low
permeability, underbalanced drilling (air drilling) is carried out. The bit used here is ‘hammer
bit’. When a zone with high water influx is encountered, then the hammering action of the bit
gets affected which results in a lesser rate of penetration.

Solution:
The only remedy for this constraint is to shift from air drilling to mud drilling.

5) Scale Formation:

The water coming from the coal seams contains carbonate salts which are responsible for scale
deposits on the tubing and casing. This scale deposition reduces the effective volume to transport
of gas and water which leads to a decrease in production.

Solution:
The only solution for this constraint is injection of biodegradable scale inhibitors in the
formation to reduce frequent acid jobs.

6) Surface Water Discharge:

Because surface discharge is the most common disposal option for the extracted coal bed water,
the compositional characteristics of coal bed water can have a tremendous impact on the
surrounding ecology. The quality of coal bed water varies considerably from well to well and
basin to basin, but, on average, the deeper the coal bed, the more saline the water becomes. Other
compositional elements typically seen in extracted coal bed water include: Major Cations
(positively charged ions such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, & calcium), Major Anions
(negatively charged ions such as chlorine, sulfate, & hydrogen carbonate), Trace Elements &
Metals (iron, manganese, barium, chromium, arsenic, selenium, & mercury), Organics
(hydrocarbons and additives which may be carcinogenic in nature like benzene, toluene, ethyl-
benzene). As many farmers make use of stream and river diversion to water their crops and
grazing fields, the surface discharge of coal bed water can negatively impact local agriculture.