Report:

Summer training at ONGC Ltd.

Oil and Natural gas corporation Ltd., Dehradun
Submitted by:
Abhishek Sharma
B Tech. (Chemical Department)

A report on “Process Flow Scheme and Artificial

Lift”

Session- 2020-2021
Project work carried at ONGC
Name: Abhishek Sharma
Third Year
National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur
Hamirpur-177005
Himachal Pradesh

1
Preface

• I have to undergo a summer training that includes overall study of

the areas related to onshore production and refinery.
• This report has been prepared through the help of ONGC Dehradun
internship cell. ONGC Ltd. Dehradun is the renowned company in
the business of exploration & production of oil& natural gas. This
training is very helpful in the learning various industrial aspects of
Petroleum engineering and refinery.
• This report is the outcome of studying and analysing different
aspects of refining through online mode and has been completed
successfully.

2
 PROJECT COMPLETION
CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. Abhishek Sharma has successfully completed

the project training under my guidance on the topic “Process Flow
Scheme and Artificial Lift” through online mode from 15.06.2020 to
15.07.2020 for the partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Project
Work, Third year of Chemical Engineering.

Date- 15.07.2020 Mr. Amar Nath

S.E. Production.
ONGC Dehradun

3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my sincere thanks to the ONGC management,

Providing me an opportunity to undergo summer training.
I am thankful to the ONGC Management, especially Mr Amar Nath
who has guided me throughout my internship and provided me with
the work experience and knowledge valuable, worthy for my future.

CERTIFICATION
To Whom So Ever It May Concern
This is to Certify that Mr. Abhishek Sharma has completed his
industrial training under my guidance and supervision.
He has reported to the undersigned on 15.06.2020 and underwent
training from 15.06.2020 to 15.07.2020
His overall performance during whole training period was
EXCELLENT. I really appreciate his sincere work and bless him a
very bright career in future.
Mr. Amar Nath
S.E. Production
ONGC Dehradun

4
Contents
• Production process flow scheme
• Oil and Gas collecting stations
• Group gathering stations
• Well fluid separations
• Separators: Constructional features
• Separators: Instrumentation and control
• Heater treater
• Heater Treater: Instrumentation and Control
• Artificial Lift
• Sucker Rod Pump Method
• Gas lift Method
• Electrical Submersible Method

5
Production process Flow Scheme

• The produced hydrocarbon is first sent to group gathering

stations. Gas gathering lines are used in oil/gas fields for collection
and transportation of natural gas from the wellheads to gas
handling plants.
• A group gathering station consists of heater treaters, separators,
pumps, compressors, tanks.
• Next the fluid is introduced onto the Central processing facility
(CPF)/ Central tank farm (CTF). Central processing facility collects
unrefined petroleum and gaseous petroleum from wellheads and
start to filter through water, sands, boring added substances and
other undesirable substances.
• This permits the oil and gas to continue to the plants and
treatment facilities where it can at last be changed over into
saleable fuel, feedstock and items. Central processing facility
consist of following:
• Separators
• Heater treaters
• Settling tanks
• Storage tanks
• Pumps/Compressors
• Effluent treatment

6
The gas separated after central processing facility is sent to GAIL, the
largest state-owned natural gas processing and distribution company in
India.
• Some of the gas is sent for use in gas injection. Gas injection is the
reinjection of gas into an underground reservoir, one previously
containing both petroleum gas and unrefined petroleum, so as to
expand the weight inside the store and in this manner incite the
progression of raw petroleum or more than likely sequester gas
that can’t be sent out
• Some part of the gas is used for gas lift, where gas is infused into
the annulus of the well instead of the reservoir.
• Naptha obtained is sent to consumers. Naptha is unstable,
profoundly combustible fluid hydrocarbon blends utilized
predominantly as solvents and diluents and as raw material for
change to gas.
• LPG is sent to customers for use in heating devices, vehicles or
cooking purposes.
• The crude oil obtained is sent to refinery for further processing as
its composition needs to be made suitable for various uses.
• The effluent, which is redundant water and other unnecessary
components is sent to treatment plants or disposed.

7
Oil and Gas Collecting Stations

• The fluids obtained are transported to well manifolds. Well

manifolds are an arrangement of piping or valves designed to
control distribute and typically monitor flow.
• Separator is pressure vessel used for separating the well stream
into gaseous and liquid components.
• As we can see that there are 3 types of separators present: HP,
MP, LP where HP stands for High pressure
MP stands for Medium Pressure
LP stands for low pressure
• High Pressure separators are primary separation devices used for
segregation of the three phases i.e. Oil, Water and Gas from the
initial inlet stream coming outside the Oil Wells and moving to
medium and low-pressure separators before ending up in the
stock tank. High Pressure separators are primary separation
devices used for segregation of the three phases i.e. Oil, Water
and Gas from the initial inlet stream coming outside the Oil Wells
and moving to medium and low-pressure separators before
ending up in the stock tank.

8
 • High pressure is necessary for the lighter components in the liquid
phase to stabilize therefore resulting in quicker retention time and
separation of liquids from each other. However, the high pressure
must also be maintained at the optimum level so that it does not
cause the lighter component in the liquid phase end up in the
outlet gas stream.
• The crude which is produced contains considerable amount of
water in it which has to be removed/treated before crude is
supplied to the refinery.
• Heater treater is the equipment which is used for this purpose.
Basically it is used for the treatment of emulsion.
• Here horizontal heater treater is used.
• Heater treaters are used to further separate water from crude oil
emulsions in cases where this cannot be achieved with normal
gravity separation. Treaters are designed to break the emulsion by
applying heat and retention time, causing the water droplets to
coalesce and separate from the emulsion to achieve a basic
sediment and water (BS&W) specification in oil.
• Applying heat to the emulsion lowers the viscosity of the oil,
which enables more rapid settling according to Stokes law.
Treating temperatures normally range from 38˚C to 70˚C to
surpass the paraffin crystal melting point and approach the boiling
point of water at the operating pressure. The higher the treating
temperature, the easier it will be to break down the emulsion;
however, a treater temperature should be selected which
provides the most cost-effective method of meeting the BS&W
specification.
• The gaseous products obtained from the HP,MP,LP are now
compressed with the help of compressors and is supplied to GAIL.
• As seen from the figure Compressor is not needed in case of high
pressure separator. It is only needed in case of medium pressure
separator and low pressure separator to increase the pressure of
gas.

Now in reference to the First Diagram we should discuss about the

Group Gathering Stations.

9
• Gas gathering lines/systems are installed in oil/gas fields for
accumulation and transportation of raw natural gas directly from
wellheads to gas processing plants.
• Gas extracted from gas wells is sent to nearby gathering stations
by reducing the well pressure at wellheads.
• Next comes the "cleaning" at gas processing plants. The
impurities and various non-methane hydrocarbons & fluids are
separated to extract, what is known as "pipeline quality", dry
natural gas.
• A gas processing plant also recovers valuable natural gas liquids
such as condensate, natural gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas,
as well as other substances like sulphur.
• Once the processing is over, marketable components are
transported via pipelines to areas of high consumer demand.
• As for the process in the chart : well fluid from well comes via 4”
line to header. Each well fluid can be diverted to group separator
loop.
• Gas from first stage goes to consumer and liquid from first stage
to second stage.

10
• Well fluid from MP header joints with HP separator oil outlet and
gas from MP separator goes to medium pressure compressor inlet
via scrubber.
• Liquid from MP separator goes to LP separator along with LP
header well fluid. Gas from LP separator goes to LP compressor via
scrubber.

• Liquid from LP separator goes to storage tank via heater

treater.Water from heater treater goes to effluent disposal tank
and is further pumped for disposal.

Factors Affecting the Separation:

• Operating Pressure
• Operating Temperature
• Gas liquid Densities
• Settling Velocity
• Molecule Size
• Retention Time

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• Well fluid separation is the process of separating well fluids
produced into mixture of oil, gas and water by using the force of
Gravity.
• Gas, Oil and Water separation was achieved by the difference in
gravity or weight of each fluid.
• Production separators do the same job, except they are build to
handle continuous flow stream and have features to improve
separation efficiency under flow conditions.
• There are two types of separation processes:
• Stage separation Method
• Low temperature Separation Method

• Here we will be discussing Stage separation method: An

operation in which the well stream is passed through two or more
separators that are arranged in series. The first separator is called
first-stage separator, the second separator is called second-stage
separator and additional separators are named according to their
position in the series. The operating pressures are sequentially
reduced, so the highest pressure is found at the first separator
and the lowest pressure at the final separator. The objective of
stage separation is to maximize the hydrocarbon liquid recovery

12
 and to provide maximum stabilization to the resultant phases
(liquid and gas) leaving the final separator.
• Stabilization means that considerable amounts of gas or liquid
will not evolve from the final liquid and gas phases, respectively,
in places such as stock tanks or gas pipelines. Additionally, stage
separation reduces the horsepower required by a compressor,
since the gas is fed at higher pressures.
• Separators can be classified in two different categories: 1. Vertical,
Horizontal and Spherical. 2. Two phase and Three
Phase.
• Firstly, we will be categorizing separators on the basis of Phases:
• Two Phase: In the two-phase units, gas is separated from the
liquid with the gas and liquid being discharge separately. Oil and
gas separators are mechanically designed such that the liquid and
gas components are separated from the hydrocarbon steam at
specific temperature and pressure.
• Three Phase: In three-phase separators, well fluid is separated
into gas, oil and water with the three fluids being discharged
separately. The gas-liquid separation section of the separator is
determined by the maximum removal droplet size. The oil-water
separation section is held for a retention time that is provided by
the laboratory test data, pilot plant operating procedure.
• Advantages of Two-Phase separator: 1. Free and emulsified water
separated together. Less volume requirement. 2. Less residence
time- liquid separated out together. 3. Less instrumentation
requirement- interface level control section not required.
• Advantages of Three-Phase separator: 1. Free water separated
out first. Less load on Heater-Treater. 2. Better quality of oil
produced. 3. In case of only free water available in oil, liquid
heating can be avoided and thereby evaporation losses of lighters.

• Now we will be classifying separators as Horizontal and Vertical

only:

• Vertical Separators: A vertical separator is a vessel for the bulk

removal of liquids or solids by gravity. Operators prefer to utilize

13
 vertical separators over other separators when the well streams
have large liquid to gas ratios, constant flow and small liquid surge
characteristics.

• Basic characteristics of Vertical separator: 1. Liquid Level

Controllers - Liquid level controllers maintain a desired level in a
vessel. The displacer floats in the process fluid and as the fluid
level passes to the high-level set point. The liquid level controller
pilot sends signals to the dump valve to open. As the level
decreases and reaches the low-level set point the pilot stops send
supply gas to the dump.
• 2.Dump Valves - A dump valve is opened by controller to drain the
liquids from a vessel.
• 3.Gauge Valve Sets - These valves are used when replacing a
broken sight glass to isolate process fluid.
• 4.Sight Glass - A sight glass is a transparent glass tube that allows

14
 you to see the process fluid level inside a vessel.
• 5.Temperature Gauges - Temperature gauges are designed to
show process temperature.
• 6. Thermowell - Thermowells are designed to block the process
fluid and to be a connection port for temperature gauges.
• 7.Pressure Gauges - Pressure Gauges are designed to show
process pressure.
• 8.Vent Caps - Vent caps are used to protect the PSV from
rainwater. This vent cap also has a whistle vent integrated for low
amounts of pressure relieving that is usually not noticeable.
• 9.Pressure Safety Valves -The pressure safety valve will open if
process pressure exceeds the factory set pressure. The PSV
ensures the safety of the equipment.

Horizontal Separators: Horizontal separators are used where large

volumes of total fluids and large amounts of dissolved gas are present
with the liquid. They are also preferred where the vapor–liquid ratio is
small or where three-phase separation is required.

• In horizontal separators, gas flows horizontally while liquid

droplets fall toward the liquid surface. The moisture gas flows in
the baffle surface and forms a liquid film that is drained away to
the liquid section of the separator. The baffles need to be longer
than the distance of liquid trajectory travel. The liquid-level
15
 control placement is more critical in a horizontal separator than in
a vertical separator because of limited surge space.
• Horizontal separators are usually the first choice because of their
low costs. They are almost widely used for high gas–oil ratio well
streams, foaming well streams, or liquid-from-liquid separation.
They have much greater gas–liquid interface because of a large,
long, baffled gas-separation section. Horizontal separators are
easier to skid-mount and service and require less piping for field
connections. Individual separators can be stacked easily into
stage-separation assemblies to minimize space requirements.
• The upper tube section is filled with baffles, gas flows straight
through and at higher velocities, and the incoming free liquid is
immediately drained away from the upper tube section into the
lower tube section. Horizontal double-tube separators have all the
advantages of normal horizontal single-tube separators, plus
much higher liquid capacities.
• This type of separator is commonly used for well testing and in
instances where free water readily separates from the oil or
condensate. Three-phase separation can be accomplished in any
type of separator. This can be achieved by installing either special
internal baffling to construct a water leg or water siphon
arrangement. It can also be achieved by using an interface liquid-
level control. In three-phase operations, two liquid dump valves
are required.
• The oil and gas separators typically use retention time or settling
theory, which states that in the gravity settling section, the liquid
particles will settle down at a velocity determined by equating the
drag force caused by its motion with the gravity force on its drop.
To handle the liquid surges that frequently occur during gas or oil
production, the separators must be sized with enough margin.

16
Separators: Constructional Features

• The oil/gas separators are typically sized by the settling theory or

retention time for the liquid phase. To handle the liquid surges or
production fluctuation frequently encountered during oil/gas
production, it is a common practice to size the oil/gas separators
with a sufficient margin. The separator is generally divided into
the following functional zones,
• Inlet zone
• Flow distribution zone
• Gravity separation/coalescing zone
• Outlet zone
• Each zone has to be carefully designed to achieve the designated
overall separation performance

Inlet zone: Appropriate inlet device is needed to obtain an initial bulk

separation of liquid/gas. In most cases, gas will have already come out of
solution in the pipeline, leading to the separator (because of pressure
drop across an upstream choke or a control valve). Hence, the majority
of the gas is separated from the liquid in the inlet zone. Because of
foaming issues and the need for higher capacities, cyclonic inlets are
now becoming increasingly popular. For applications with inlet
momentum saying less than 9 kPa, a vane inlet can be used.

17
The initial separation of gases or liquids takes place in bulk quantity in
this section. It includes many inlets such as flat impact plates, half-open
pipes, cyclone-cluster inlets, and more.

• Typical inlets include:

• Flat impact plates
• Dished-head plates
• Half-open pipes
• Vane-type inlet
• Cyclone-cluster inlet
• These inlets, although inexpensive, may have the shortcoming of
negatively affecting separation performance. However, for higher-
momentum fluids, these inlets can cause problems. The flat or
dished-head plates can result in small drops and foam. The open-
pipe designs can lead to fluid short-circuiting or channeling.
Although inlet momentum is a good starting guideline for
selection, the process conditions, as well as the demister choice,
should also be considered. For example, if the liquid loading is low
enough that a demister can handle all the liquid, then inlet devices
can be applied beyond their typical momentum ranges.
• Flow distribution Zone: Regardless of the size of the vessel, short-
circuiting can result in poor separation efficiency. Integral to any
inlet device is a flow straightener such as a single perforated baffle
plate. A full-diameter plate allows the gas/liquid to flow more
uniformly after leaving the vane-type inlet, inlet cyclones, or even
the impact plates. The plate also acts as an impingement demister
and foam breaker as well. Typical net-free area (NFA) ranges in
the 10 to 50% range. As the NFA lowers, the shear of the fluids
gets higher, so the NFA should be matched to the particular
application. One concern of these plates is solids buildup on the
upstream side. Generally, the velocities are high enough in the
inlet zone to carry the solids through the perforations. In any case,
a flush nozzle should be installed in the inlet zone. Other designs
include flow straightening vanes. However, the open area is

18
 generally too high to be effective.

• Gravity/coalescing zone: To assist in separation (and foam

breaking), mesh pad, vane pack, and/or plate/matrix packs are
sometimes introduced in the gas/liquid separator. These internals
provide more impingement or shearing surfaces to enhance
coalescing effect of the dispersed phase. For the gas phase,
matrix/plate packs and vanes have been used to aid in liquid drop
coalescence or foam breaking. The theory behind installing the
high surface internals such as plate packs for foam breaking is that
the bubbles will stretch and break as they are dragged along the
surfaces. However, if most of the gas flows through the top
portion of the pack, the foamy layer will not be sufficiently
sheared, and the bubbles will meander through to the other end.
In this portion of the vessel, a mesh pad, or matrix packs are
installed in the separator to assist in the separation process.

Outlet zone: Mist capture can occur by three mechanisms; it should be

kept in mind that there are no sharply defined limits between
mechanisms. As the momentum of a droplet varies directly with liquid
density and the cube of the diameter, heavier or larger particles tend to
resist following the streamline of a flowing gas and will strike objects
placed in their line of travel. This is inertial impaction, the mechanism
responsible for removing most particles of diameter > 10 μm. Smaller
particles that follow the streamlines may collide with the solid objects, if
their distance of approach is less than their radius. This is direct
impaction. It is often the governing mechanism for droplets in the 1- to
10-μm range.

With submicron mists, Brownian capture becomes the dominant

collection mechanism. This depends on Brownian motion—the
continuous random motion of droplets in elastic collision with gas
molecules. As the particles become smaller and the velocity gets lower,
the Brownian capture becomes more efficient. It is the final stage and
uses a mist extractor made of mesh and fibre-beds.

19
Separators- Instrumentation and Control

• For liquids, this is done by means of a level controller and level

valve. The traditional level controller consists of a float on a
spring. As the liquid level in the separator rises, the float rises until
it closes a switch, which then opens the level valve to let out some
liquid. When the level falls back down to the normal operating
level, the switch opens again and drives the level valve closed. A
two-phase separator uses a single liquid-level controller and level
valve; a three-phase separator will have both an oil outlet with an
oil-level controller and level valve and a water outlet with a water-
level controller and level valve.

• If the level valves control the liquid coming out of the separator,
how is the gas controlled? Because the liquid is incompressible

20
 and the liquid level in the separator remains fairly constant, the
gas is contained in an approximately constant volume. As more
gas enters the separator, the pressure rises. A pressure controller
is mounted on the separator-gas space or on the outlet-gas piping.
The controller sends a signal to the pressure-control valve in the
gas-outlet piping telling it to open when the pressure is higher
than the set point. Pressure-control valves are usually modulating,
which means that they gradually open wider as the pressure rises
to a value higher than the set point and close as the pressure falls
to a value lower than the set point.

• In short, whatever amount of liquid comes into the separator, an

equal amount must exit through the level-control valve. The level
controller senses whether the liquid level is high or low and
adjusts the level valve accordingly. Whatever amount of gas that
comes in the inlet of the separator, an equal amount of gas must
exit through the pressure-control valve. The pressure controller
senses pressure in the separator, opening the pressure-control
valve if the pressure gets higher than the desired set point and
closing it if the pressure gets lower than desired. If the inlet
stream shuts off, the outlet valves would all close, maintaining the
pressure and level in the separator.

Heater Treater

21
 • A heater treater in oil and gas is a 3-phase separator vessel that
utilizes heat and mechanical separation devices to facilitate the
separation of oil-water emulsions before transporting the dry oil
through pipelines.

• Primary Function: To reduce the bottom sediments and water

content of crude oil to less than 0.2%.
• Treatment carried out in three stages: 1. Heating- To break
emulsion physically. 2. Demulsifier addition- To break emulsion
chemically. 3. Electrostatic separation- to coalesce water droplets.

Heater Treater Features

22
• A heater treater consists of four sections that perform the
following functions:
• Degassing
• Heating
• Differential oil control
• Coalescing

How a Heater Treater Works

• Untreated crude enters the degassing section via an inlet located
at the top of the vessel and dry, associated gases are vented into a
gas collection line containing a mist extractor. Produced water
within the crude drops to the bottom of the vessel and is tapped
off from a separate outlet. The emulsion passes into a heating
section containing fire tubes that heat it indirectly with heated
water. This ‘washes’ the crude mixture, separating the free water
and solids.
• The treating temperature typically used can be anywhere from
23
 98.6 – 158 °F depending on the crude viscosity. The purpose of
heating the oil is to reduce its viscosity and aid the breaking of the
emulsion. The oil and emulsion rise over the fire tubes and flow
into an oil surge chamber containing a differential float device
that regulates the oil level. Some heater treaters have a section
containing a filtering medium to screen solid particles out of the
oil.
• The oil and emulsion flow into the coalescing section through a
spreader. This section comprises an electrostatic device that
passes alternating current through the emulsion to induce droplet
coalescence. As the water molecules separate from the emulsion,
they collide and form larger droplets that settle to the bottom of
the tank under the force of gravity. The dry oil is tapped via a
separate outlet at the top of the tank.
• Heater treaters are available in vertical or horizontal orientations.
The main difference between a vertical heater treater and a
horizontal heater treater for oil and gas is the duration for which
the liquid stays in the vessel. The cycle time in horizontal heater
treaters is usually longer than that in the vertical orientation.

24
 Heater Treater Instrumentation and
control

• Burner Gas Firing- controlled by temperature controller TC.

• Oil level Control – operated through level transmitter LT
• Water level controls- set and maintained by interface level
transmitter ILT.
• System Pressure Control- monitored by gas pressure- through PRV
in gas outlet line.

25
Artificial Lift
Why Artificial lift is needed?
• As we know that the oil and gas which is extracted has a stored
energy in it by virtue of which it rises to the surface of the well.
• During extended period of drilling and extraction the stored
energy starts to decrease and hence it can no longer rise to the
surface by virtue of its stored energy, Therefore, we need artificial
lift for further extraction.
What is artificial lift?
Artificial lift is a supplement to natural energy either through
mechanical means or by injecting compressed gas for lifting well fluid
to the surface.
What purpose does artificial lift serve?
The purpose of artificial lift is to maintain a continuous and steady
flow against the sand face s as to allow the well fluid to come into the
well bore continuously.

Classification of Artificial lift

Artificial lift can be classified on the basis of:
1. By compressed gas where in the tubing intake pressure
requirement is reduced to meet the desired flow rate as in the
case of gas lift.
2. By mechanical means where in the additional energy is
supplemented by mechanical means such as sucker rod pump,
Electrical submergible pump, Hydraulic jet pump.
Factors affecting design and analysis of artificial lift system:
1. Reservoir component from the periphery of drainage area to
around the wellbore.
2. Reservoir component from around the wellbore to the wellbore
which represents the wells ability to give up fluids into the
wellbore.
3. Component of flow path is the entire tubing in the
vertical/horizontal/inclined path which includes all systems like
26
 down hole artificial lift equipment, sub surface safety valves, non-
return valves.
4. The surface flow path which includes length and diameter of flow,
line, valves, bends, wellhead, chokes, manifold, separator etc.

Methods of Artificial Lifting

• There are many factors which come into in deciding the method
of artificial lift to be used such as:
• Production rate
• Reservoir Properties
• Production tubing and casing
• Well depth and inclination
• Production of H2S, CO2, Sand wax
• Oil API gravity
• Well location and infrastructure
• Operation flexibility and logistics
Based on these factors artificial lift is classified into:
1. Suction Rod Pump method (SRP)
2. Gas lift method
3. Electrical submersible pump method (ESP)

Suction Rod Pump Method

Introduction
• It is the most widely used and old technique. Beam pumping unit
is more versatile and common among other types of SRPs.
• The operation of SRP’s seems to be very simple and similar to
reciprocating tube pump but it has been found to be complex in
usage because of these factors:
→ Installation of pump.
→ Lifting of multiphase fluid
→ Tubing methods
→ Fluid viscosity

27
 → Stretching/contraction
→ Speed of pumping unit
→ Length of Stokes

The Whole pumping unit can be classified into three sections:

1. Surface unit
2. Sucker Rod
3. Sub-surface pump

Surface Unit: It comprises of the pumping unit which converts the rotary
motion into vertical motion with the help of several link arrangements,
Because of utilisation of walking beam pumping unit in its major
operation it is named as beam pumping unit.

28
In the surface unit the role of primary movers is played by:
1. Electric motor
2. Internal Combustion engine
Sucker Rod: These are the rods which are made of iron doped with Ni,
Mn, P, Si for providing hardness, corrosion resistance. These rods are
used as a link between the pumping unit and sub-surface pump.
Sub-Surface pump: It is a reciprocating pump actuated by the up and
down motion of the sucker rod.
It has five main components:
1. Barrel
2. Plunger
3. Standing valve
4. Travelling valve
5. Pump seat

Working Principle
• First a low rotating motion of the around 720rpm is generated
with the help of electric motor or internal combustion engine.

29
 • This rotating motion is passed onto the next unit by a V-belt
transmission system which lowers the rotating speed.
• The rotating speed is further lowered to 1:20 with the help of
double reduction gearbox.
• Then, this rotating motion is converted into linear motion and is
transferred to sub-surface pump through sucker rods.
• In this way the fluids are lifted.

Pumping Cycle
• Plunger moving down and near bottom of the stroke: travelling
valve is opened. Fluid is moving up through the travelling valve.
Standing valve is closed due to weight of the liquid column in the
tubing.
• Plunger moving up and near the bottom of the stroke: travelling
valve is closed due the weight of the liquid column above it.
Standing valve begins to open to allow entry of fluid from the well
bore.
• Plunger moving up and near the top of the stroke: travelling valve
is closed due to weight of fluid above it, standing valve is open
and allows entry of fluid from the well bore.
• Plunger moves down and near top of the stroke.

30
Gas Anchors
A perforated tubular attached to the subsurface sucker-rod pump that
controls the entrance of gas. Since it is the only way for formation fluid
to enter the pump, its use increases the efficiency of the subsurface
sucker-rod pump. It also helps to prevent the phenomenon called gas
lock
As free gas in the barrel reduces the efficiency of this pump.
It works on the principle of Gravitational separation.
Gas anchors are broadly classified into three categories:
• Natural gas anchors
• Packer type gas anchors
• Poor boy gas anchors
Also, anchors are classified into:

31
Well Head equipment
In sucker rod pumping system, polished rods are present projecting out
of the well head. One stripper and stuffing box is present and with the
closure of the stripper the polished rod tubing annular space closes and
thus cuts off the fluid flow. It is ideal to have a stripper and stuffing box
in place of master valve and crown valve respectively in case of sucker
rod pumps.

Dynamometer card
The dynamometer card is a continuous record of all the forces acting on
the polished rod at any instant during the operation of the pump. It is
recorded with respect to the polished rod position is recorded on the
abscissa and loads on the ordinate.

32
SRP Advantages and Disadvanatages

Advantages
• High energy efficiency 50-60%.
• Lower bottom hole pressure can be obtained.
• Simple rugged equipment.
• Easy automation if prime mover is motor.
• High salvage value of surface equipment.

Disadvantages
• Unit is heavy requires more space.
• The adverse flow condition for SRP:
a. Sandy crude/viscous crude.
b. High GOR.
c. Inclined well.
d. High depth well/High rate.

33
 • Sucker rod string subject to fatigue. Limit is 20 million stress
reversal.
• SRP in crooked hole incompatible.
• Maintenance of unit is difficult.

Gas Lift
In gas lift well fluids are lifted with the aid of gas by reducing the density
well fluid as well as introducing a pushing action from the bottom.

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Gas lift is broadly classified into two categories:
1. Continuous gas lift
2. Intermittent gas lift
Continuous Gas lift
In this method the gas is injected in the oil body at some predetermined
depth at a controlled rate to aerate the oil column. As the oil is aerated
its density reduces and it gets to point where A desired rate of
production is sufficient to lift oil to the surface.
The supply of oil should be continuous. It provides high volume oil
production having good efficiency.
Intermittent Gas lift
In this method sufficient volume of gas is injected at the available
injection pressure gas as quickly as possible into the tubing under a
liquid column and then gas injection is stopped. The gas expands and, in
this process, it displaces oil onto the surface. In this system an idle
period is provided when no gas injection takes place and well is allowed
to build up the level of liquid. This system should be deployed when the
well has a poor productivity index (PI) and low-pressure reservoir. It is
considered as the least effective mode as there is fallback as gas pushes
through liquid entirely and it has a tendency of gas breakthrough.

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Types of Gas installation:
1. Closed installation
2. Semi-closed installation
3. Open installation

Closed installation
When there is a packer in the tubing casing annulus, below the deepest
gas lift valve and there is a standing or non-return valve in the tubing ay
the tubing shoe. Installation of standing valve is recommended when
reservoir pressure is low and productivity index is in the range of
moderately high to high.
Semi-Closed installation
When there is only packer in the tubing annulus. Generally, used in
continuous gas lift.
Open installation
When there is neither any packer in the tubing-casing annulus or any
standing valve in the tubing shoe. Generally, used in continuous gas lift.

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Gas lift valve Mechanism
The column contains a downhole pressure regulator. These regulators
are under tubing and casing pressures so, when the tubing and casing
pressure acts the regulator opens the gas lift valves and hence it allows
injection gas to enter the production string to lift the fluid to the surface.

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Basic components of a gas lift Valve:
1. Body
2. Loading element
3. Responsive element
4. Transmission element
5. Metering element
Body: It is the outer cover of the gas lift valve which is threaded and is
screwed with the mandrel. The length usually a foot to 3ft.
Loading element: It can be a spring, gas or a combination of both. It
provides a required balancing force so that the valve can be operated at
a desired pressure.
Responsive Element: It can be metal bellows or piston, though the
former is more prevalent. It is regarded as the heart of gas lift valve.
Transmission element: It is generally a metal rod, whose one end is
fitted with the lowermost portion of the bellow and the other end is
rigidly attached with the stern tip.

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Metering element: It refers to the opening or port of the gas lift valve,
through which injection gas passes into the well fluid in the b production
tubing.

Merits and Demerits of Gas lift system

Merits
1. Excellent application for offshore production.
2. High gas to oil ratio, water drive, PI of the well, high volume lift
and flexibility in capacity.
3. Easily handles sands and solids.
4. Minor problems in deviated wells.
5. Centrally gas lift system can be adopted.
6. Subsurface equipment is relatively inexpensive and has low profile
so advantage in urban and offshore areas.

Demerits
1. Constantly imposes relatively high back pressure which restrict
production.
2. High energy operating cost.
3. Installation of compressor increases weight and space.
4. Adequate gas supply difficult to n lift emulsion and viscous crude.
5. Gas freezing and hydrate problem may occur in surface injection
lines.
6. Safety problem with high pressure gas injection.
7. Depth limitation.

Electrical Submersible Pumps

The ESP is essentially a high-volume mode of lift system with the
minimum capacity around 200 bpd and maximum around 90000bpd. It
has a very slender motor, which happens to be its most prominent
feature.

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It can provide maximum possible drawn-down by bringing anulus level
to the top of the perforations. It is extremely suitable for low viscosity
fluid.
It is very sensitive equipment and is very costly. In SRP we have some
surface control and it is not so costly but ESP does not have this feature.
Once an ESP is damaged or removed it has to be thrown away, a used
ESP cannot be reused.

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ESP equipment can be segmented into:
1. Downhole components
2. Surface components
Downhole Components
1. Electric Motor: It is two-pole three-phase cage induction type
motor, which usually operates at a normal speed of 3500rpm on
60Hz cycle and 2915rpm om 50Hz cycle. This motor is filled with
highly refined oil and it provides the necessary dielectric strength,
a good thermal conductivity and serves as lubricant which
prevents the motor from getting overheated. The motor gives
rotary motion to the pump impeller from the bottom.
2. Protector: It is connected just above the motor as the name
applies it protects the motor and the well fluids. During the
operation of the motor, the highly refined oil inside the motor
gets heated up and owning to that internal pressure of the motor
gets increased; whereas in the idle period the oil inside the motor
remains cool and low pressure is created. This differential
pressure across the walls may result the motor housing to burst or
collapse. Now the protector act as the breathing element and it
breathes out, meaning it release some motor in oil through the
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 protector in the well and during idle period inhales. This way it
protects the motor and maintains the pressure inside it. The life of
the system depends on the life of the protector.
3. Pump intake gas separator: This is connected in bolt-on-fashion
to the lower side of the pump section of the ESP and to top of the
protector. It provides a path for the fluid to enter into the pump.
It separates gas and sends it to the annulus.
4. Multistage Centrifugal pump: The pump is centrifugal in a
multistage fashion. As the diameter is restricted so it consists of a
number of stages and each stage consists of an impeller and a
diffuser. This separates gas and fluid and then a path is provided
to the gas to flow out of the separation chamber.
5. Pressure sensing instrument: It is coupled below the motor and is
composed of a surface detachable downhole and temperature
sensing instrument. It records the pressure and temperature of
the fluid at pump depth.
6. Pothead extension power cables: It is used to connect the motor
with the main cable. One end of it is joined to the main cable and
the other to the motor head. There are two types of pothead
extension power cables available in the market which are Plug-in
type pothead and Tape-in type pothead.
7. Power cable: It supplies power from the surface to the downhole
motor. It is standardized by American Wire Gauge (AWG). The
cable is made up of three separate conductors separated from
each other by insulating material. All ESP cables have galvanized
armor, which prevent the cable from damage. There are basically
two types of cable, Round cable and Flat or Parallel cable.

Surface Components
1. Wellhead: After the final run in of tubing is completed, it is
required to cap the well properly. On the tubing, X-mass tree is
fitted and protruded cable or mandrel is connected to the surface
cable. So, wellhead is to provide a perfect seal around the tubing
and power cable.
2. Mini Material: A very good non-conducting solid material in a
cylindrical shape surrounding three copper conductors of required

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 size from the mini-mandrel. It is screwed into the slot of sea-board
type wellhead.

3. Upper big tail: Its one end is connected to the surface cable and
the other coupled with the top of the mini-mandrel.
4. Surface cable: It is similar to the power cable and is laid on the
surface to connect the well head to the switch board.
5. Junction Box: It is the junction point of well cable and surface
cable located at a safe distance from the wellhead. It is a well-
ventilated box and is very essential when ‘Hercules’ make
wellhead is used.
6. Booster: It is required to boost the surface voltage according to
the requirement of the rated downhole voltage.
7. Switch Board: The stanard ones are made weatherproof, not
flameproof. They are available in different ranges of voltage from
440 volts to 4900 volts.
8. Power transformer: Standard power transformer i.e. step-down
transformer is available with different kW ranges.

ESP Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages
1. Adoptable to highly deviated wells/High surface well head.
2. Minimum numbers of tools
3. Method is quite safe and clean.
4. Considered to be high volume pumps.
5. Commissioning timeless.

Disadvantages
1. Minimum tolerance with solid production.
2. Costly repairing operation
3. Not adoptable to low volume.

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