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Artificial Lift System Applications in Tight Formations: The State of

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 PO196592 DOI: 10.2118/196592-PA Date: 27-April-20 Stage: Page: 422 Total Pages: 13

Artificial Lift System Applications in Tight

Formations: The State of Knowledge
Oladoyin Kolawole, Talal D. Gamadi, and Denny Bullard, Texas Tech University

Summary
The artificial lift (AL) system is the most efficient production technique in optimizing production from the unconventional horizontal
oil and gas wells. Nonetheless, due to declining reservoir pressure during the production life of a well, artificial lifting of oil and gas
remains a critical issue. Notwithstanding the attempt by several studies in the past few decades to understand and develop cutting-edge
technologies to optimize the application of AL in tight formations, there remains differing assessments of the best approach, AL type,
optimum time, and conditions to install AL during the life of a well. This report presents a comprehensive review of AL system applica-
tion with specific focus on tight oil and gas formations across the world. The review focuses on over 35 successful and unsuccessful
field tests in the unconventional horizontal wells over the past few decades. The purpose is to apprise the industry and academic
researchers on the various AL optimization approaches that have been used and suggest AL optimization areas where new technologies
can be developed.

Introduction
Tight formations are unconventional reservoirs with low permeability and porosity. Oil and gas production from these formations
require stimulation to attain economic recovery from these formations. Over the past few decades, there has been a surge in using AL
designs and applications in the development of the unconventional horizontal oil and gas wells by the industry. The production rates
have been observed to drop by over 40 to 80% within the first year in the unconventional reservoir wells (Wigwe et al. 2019) after com-
pletion and fracturing operations (Pankaj et al. 2018). In the unconventional wells, the major characteristic feature is the swift produc-
tion decline and changes at different life stages of the well. AL application in the unconventional horizontal wells (Fig. 1) (Ahmed
et al. 2019) is considered as the only viable option to raise the production rate of wells without any well intervention, after the well has
reached its economic limit (Kolawole et al. 2019b). The limitation in achieving optimal productivity in deep horizontal wells is the lack
of proper and efficient design of its AL system.

Horizontal well pumping Horizontal well pumping

from a vertical position from a horizontal position

Rods
Casing
Vertical section

Tubing
Pump
Horizontally fractured section
Packer

Kickoff point Pump

Fractures Fractures
(a) (b)

Fig. 1—Typical setup for a horizontal well pumping: (a) from vertical position and (b) from lateral position (after Cortines and
Hollabaugh 1992).

Fluctuating flow rates, liquid slugging, damaging solids, and gas interference are some of the challenges of flow in the horizontal
wellbore section. Although the production from the horizontal wellbores has been improved, the cost of operation has also been raised;
it may cost three times more in expenses to drill and complete a horizontal wellbore than a vertical wellbore. Fig. 2 shows how the AL
applied, and the techniques adopted can influence the production rate in the lifetime of a well. On the basis of the initial production
rate, the AL approach in the life of a well can consist of one, two, or up to three different AL methods as the production drops
over time.

Copyright V
C 2020 Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper (SPE 196592) was accepted for presentation at the SPE Eastern Regional Meeting, Charleston, West Virginia, USA, 15–17 October 2019, and revised for publication. Original
manuscript received for review 28 June 2019. Revised manuscript received for review 8 November 2019. Paper peer approved 11 November 2019.

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Flow due to AL application

Natural flow
AL
Optimal technique + AL method operation
installation Suboptimal technique + AL method operation
Poor technique + AL method operation

Production Rate

Time

Fig. 2—Influence of AL techniques on production rates (after Pankaj et al. 2018).

Background
Currently in the United States, it is estimated that around 40% of the unconventional wells with AL systems installed use gas lift (GL),
36% use electrical submersible pump (ESP), 13% use rod lift, 7% use plunger lift, and 4% jet pumps (Pankaj et al. 2018). Table 1 pro-
vides a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of installing AL systems in the unconventional reservoirs, and a brief overview
of the common AL systems is presented in this section.

Sucker Rod Pump. Sucker rod pumping or rod pumps are the oldest and most popularly used AL method in the world. Approximately
85% of the unconventional wells in the United States are artificially lifted using rod pumps because of its simplicity (Pankaj et al.
2018). The sucker rod pump (SRP) system can be divided into (comprises) two major groups: surface and downhole equipment. The
surface equipment includes the prime mover, gear reducer, walking beam, and polished rod. The downhole equipment includes the rod
string, the pump plunger (houses the traveling valve), and the pump barrel (houses the standing valve). SRPs are well known for being
able to achieve very high drawdowns to produce wells with low bottomhole flowing pressures and can work with very low pump intake
pressures (PIPs). This makes rod pumps desirable for the last stage of production or if the PIP rates are significantly low. Despite its
popularity and simplicity, the SRP can be prone to sand production (Kolawole et al. 2018), mechanical failure of the tubing/rod string
in the horizontal sections of the wellbore due to friction of the metal parts, and presence of free gas at pump intake which can cause gas
locking; all these reduces the efficiency of the SRP system (Thompson et al. 2019).

Electrical Submersible Pump. ESPs have greatly benefitted from producing deep horizontal wells due to the natural separation of gas
away from the pump intake (Bridges et al. 2016; Wijaya 2017). To achieve a successful application of ESPs in the deep unconventional
horizontal wells, the wellbore setting depth is of utmost importance to raise the hydrocarbon lift capacity and production rate. The ESP
consists of subsurface components (pump, motor, seal, and gas separator) and surface components [variable speed drive (VSD), trans-
former, and surface electric cables]. Due to the fluctuation of reservoir productivity in the unconventional horizontal reservoirs, surface
installation of VSD is recommended.

Gas Lift. Due to the low cost of operations, GL is the fastest growing AL system applicable to the unconventional wells. Although the
installation of GL with wireline tools is possible in inclined wells where deviation might be as high as 75 in horizontal and highly devi-
ated wells, coiled tubing or other special tools are required for GL to be installed. In certain areas, the application of GL is limited due
to lack of formation gas or other sources of gas for compression and reinjection into the reservoir.

Jet Pump. There is a rise in the application of jet pumps in the unconventional horizontal wells due to its high reliability, tolerance to gas,
and its ability to be resized without a rig (Kurkjian 2018). Jet pumps consist of a downhole nozzle and a throat through which power fluids
are injected at high pressure from the surface, then mixes with the reservoir fluids, and the fluid mixture flow out of the pump to the surface.
In the horizontal and deviated wells, jet pumps are installed through wireline or with the aid of free circulation. Due to the high net-positive
suction pressure required to maintain drawdown in the unconventional wells, jet pump’s application might suffer some setbacks.

Plunger Lift. Plunger lift is usually installed in low-volume wells with production rates of around 200 B/D or less. As such, it is most desira-
ble for the unconventional wells with low productivity index (PI), and its gas production can build up in the wellbore when the well is shut-in.

Field Applications of AL Systems

Case Study 1—SRP. In Canada, the Alberta Department of Energy–Oil Sand and Research Division, the Alberta Research Council,
and few major oilfield operators teamed up to address the major challenges mitigating SRP application in the unconventional horizontal
and deviated wells in the Alberta oil fields (Toma et al. 1998).
To eliminate the problems of sucker rod pumping inefficiencies due to steam and noncondensable gases, and pump seizure due to
sand-laden fluids in Toma et al. (1998), a new valve design (HIVAC) was developed and field tested on 14 wells. The HIVAC is
designed to minimize the differences between the drag coefficient and Reynolds number. It consists of four ball guides with a helical
design to reduce cage damage and ball wear and subsequently prevents sand accumulation in the flow area. The HIVAC also consists of
a cage design to increase the valve life and a ball-stop to decrease the exit area. The before and after results (Fig. 3) of replacing test
field conventional valve with the HIVAC valve show a rise in the production rate in the range of 10 to 90%, and minimal pump inter-
ruptions were recorded. A preventive maintenance scheme for the sucker rod beam pump can extend the life of the equipment when
incorporated into the day-to-day field operations (Bullard 1976).

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AL System Merits Demerits

SRP 1. Common for pumping
oil wells
2. Simple operation
3. Wide turn-down range
1.5–7 SPM
4. Wide range of downhole
conditions
5. Automated optimization
6. Minimal maintenance/ 1. Low efficiency with high 5. Cannot land pump in
operators GLR fluid DLS > 2°
7. Produce well late life to 2. Difficult to draw fluid level 6. Paraffin problem without
10 BFPD below bubblepoint treatment
8. Portable generator or 3. Tubing wear operating 7. Chemical program,
utility power past kickoff point paraffin and corrosion
9. Simple integration with 4. Hole in tubing if sucker
SCADA rods unguided

ESP 1. No sucker rods and 1. Installation cost 4. Electric motor cooling

guides
2. High turn-down rate
3. Fully automated
operation
Jet pump 1. Excellent gas handling
2. Suitable for directional
wellbores
3. Flexible production rate
Plunger lift 1. No external energy
required
2. Rigless intervention
3. Low maintenance
Progressing cavity 1. Wide turn-down range
pump (PCP) 2. Low cost
GL 1. Wireline retrievable
2. Excellent gas handling
3. Handle solids
4. Operation in the
deviated wellbores
2. Low reliability-high 5. Expensive workover
bottomhole temperature to repair
3. Smooth tangent section 6. Solids
in the wellbore
4. Solids 1. High-pressure power 4. Difficult to treat for scale
fluid required 5. Operator required at
2. High operating expense startup
to maintain surface 6. Large generator required
equipment and power quality
3. Frequent downtime
associated with
surface and subsurface
equipment
4. Tubing cleaned of 1. Requires 400 scf/bbl per 3. Requires differential
paraffin and scale when 1000 ft pressure between
plunger travels 2. Solids can stick plunger bottomhole pressure and
5. Suitable for high GLR tubing pressure to initiate
plunger travel
3. Automation 1. Elastomers incompatible 3. Tubing and rod wear
4. Low profile with fluid 4. Operating depth limitation
2. Operating temperature
above capability
5. Compression remote 1. High pressure 7. Experienced operators
from wellsite compression required required
6. Able to convert from 2. Infrastructure best to 8. Backpressure may
continuous injection to install during construct- decrease production
gas-assisted plunger lift ion phase of field 9. Paraffin can be significant
development issue
3. High net-positive 10. Decline in bottomhole
suction head required pressure and productivity
4. Methanol injection 11. Low efficiency when
5. Freezing and hydrate on producing a single well
injection gas lines or small field
6. Corrosive injection gas
requires treatment

Table 1—Merits and demerits of major AL systems (Clarke and Malone 2016).

1200 1400
Before After
After After
Before
Before
Production Rate (m3/month)

1200
Production Rate (m3/month)

1000
1000

800 800
Oil
Water
600 HIVAC valve installation
600
400
400
200

200 0
3

93

94

94

94

94

94

94

94
99

99

99

99

99

99
19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19
r1

r1

y1

r1

y1

1
r

ry

ch

ril

ry

ch

ril

ay

e
be

be

be

be
ar

ar

n
Ap

Ap
ua

M
ar

ar

Ju
nu

nu

ru
to

m
M

M
br
Oc

ve

ce

ce

b
Ja

Ja
Fe

Fe
No

De

De

Time Time

Fig. 3—Production results of before and after replacement of conventional valve with HIVAC valve (after Toma et al. 1998).

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A novel model for characterizing force analysis and rod deformation in designing sucker rod strings for the unconventional direc-
tional and horizontal wells was developed (Yuan and Duan 1994). A huge increase in the internal bending moments between the
guides/wheels support was observed due to increased spacing between the guides/wheels. This will aid a successful completion and pro-
duction of the unconventional horizontal wells. The unanticipated failure of sucker rod and/or tubing due to uncontrolled friction
between them was addressed by developing the sucker rod centralizers (Rivas et al. 1990). The sucker rod centralizer designed for the
horizontal and deviated wells enables centralization of the sucker rod string within the production tubing and at the same time reduces
the friction forces between the rod and the tubing. The rod centralizer was tested on the Orinoco Belt Field in Venezuela. The result
(Table 2) showed that the tubing and/or sucker rod failures were reduced to zero per year from a previous average of three per year,
and greatly increased the average life of the centralizers in the sucker rod string. In Wagner and Corser (2019), tests were conducted in
approximately 50 horizontal wells, and a rod guide optimization program was incorporated into this test. The program data are aligned
with the deviation survey, previous rod string, and failure history in the rod guide software; wear-related failures can be correlated to
the depth placement on the basis of a target run life in the entire deviated wellbore section. The authors observed that 25 wells out of
the 50 wells tested showed an average of 78% increase in pump run time before pulling the second tubing. In the entire field, the rod
guide optimization program lowered the SRP failure rate by 49% in the horizontal wells investigated.

Deviation Angle
Well Well Depth (ft) Pump Depth (ft) (degrees) Production (B/D) Operating Time (days) Remarks

CH–06 3,675 3,267 20 300 429

CH–09 4,021 3,097 34.5 250 242

CH–19 3,983 3,336 34.28 280 195 No failures in

rods or tubing
CH–20 3,723 3,296 20 349 349 have been
reported
CH–31 3,757 2,980 22.75 300 300

CH–32 3,780 2,992 24 350 350

CH–34 4,059 3,206 36 200 200

Table 2—Production test result from Orinoco Belt Field section (Rivas et al. 1990).

In the horizontal wellbores, operational complications due to shortage in pump fillage or complete pump starvation in the sucker rod
pumping units were scaled down by the design of a special sucker rod pumping unit (Kitapov and Gilfanov 2018). The new design was
field tested in two horizontal wells in Bavlinskoye oil field by PJSC Tatneft Company. During the field test, the suction valve unit’s faulty
sealing limited the pump operation as the pumps failed at 389 and 436 days, respectively. In Kitapov and Gilfanov (2018), a “self-
positioning valve” system was introduced to the field test to enhance the curvature range almost to 90 for a sucker rod pumping unit. As
of date, the installment and application of the self-positioning valves in the SRP units have been extended to 124 horizontal wells of the
Bavlinskoye oil field, with the pump operating hours in individual wells amounting to 1,038 days. The test result showed a significant
decrease in the bottomhole pressure, increase in drainage speed, and an increase in the delivery coefficient of the SRP unit up to 0.72.
Using isolated tail pipe systems in rod pumps installed in the horizontal wells has been widely accepted over the past few years. The iso-
lated tail pipe system delivers oil and gas from the horizontal borehole section to an uphole position, thereby keeping the rod pumps out
of unfavorable setting positions. After several tests conducted in Ellithorp and Snyder (2018), the authors observed that a well-designed
and safe-to-run isolated tail pipe system will lower cost and maximize profit in the oil and gas production from tight formations.
In Pearsall Field, Texas, Oryx Energy Company (later acquired by Anadarko) drilled and produced 80 horizontal wells on SRP
(Cortines and Hollabaugh 1992). The failure rate was approximately 2.5 per well/year while pumping from the horizontal well. A packer-
type gas anchor installation and an increased casing size were implemented on three groups of wells (I to III) in the Pearsall Field.
The results presented in Table 3 show a significant increase in the production rate when laterally pumping from the unconventional
horizontal wells.

Production Response from Horizontal Wells

Pumping in the Lateral Section

Average Vertical Test Average Lateral Test Average Incremental

Well Group (BOPD/BWPD/Mcf/D) (BOPD/BWPD/Mcf/D) (BOPD)

I (14 wells) 106/36/174 218/134/251 112

II (13 wells) 109/34/151 160/138/274 51

III (20 wells) 106/30/172 167/125/257 61

Table 3—Production test result from the horizontal wells pumping in the lateral section (Cortines and
Hollabaugh 1992).

The major SRP gas handling challenge confronting horizontal well operators in the Permian Basin was mitigated with improvement
in the areas of gas separator design, VSDs, and backpressure valves (Allison et al. 2018). Field reports from investigations by Occiden-
tal Petroleum (Oxy) in the Permian Basin recommend that downhole pump fillage should be used to regulate the well and ensure the
least possible backpressure is applied on the sucker rod pumped wells. The advantage of VSDs over wells using the pump-off control
(POC) cannot be overemphasized. In Lee and Gault (2019), 81 horizontal wells producing from the San Andres formation in the

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Permian Basin was installed with VSDs. The authors observed that pump failure decreased over a period of time when compared with
the wells installed with POC and at the same time having minimal-to-zero effect on the operating and production costs.
During the development of its Eagle Ford asset in South Texas, Murphy Oil installed the SRP system in their three main fields to
produce from more than 150 horizontal wells (Clarke and Malone 2016). After 2 years of operating the 150 SRP systems, the failure
rate recorded was 1.10 failures/well/year. The failure record showed that 52% of failures were from pump system, 22% tubing system,
and 26% sucker rod system. Successful application of 150 SRP systems in Eagle Ford over the past 4 years has reduced the system fail-
ure to 50% and confirmed SRP as a viable economic and production/optimization choice in Eagle Ford asset. As a result of increase in
exploration of oil and gas in tight formations nowadays, improved automation of the rod lift system shows that optimization of the hori-
zontal wells in tight formations is feasible (Monk and Rutledge 2018).
Due to low permeability and tight reservoir formation in the Bakken Field, North Dakota (Onwumelu et al. 2019a, 2019b;
Tomomewo et al. 2019; Wan et al. 2019), SRP installations are essential to produce from deep horizontal wells to achieve economic
rates. In Orji et al. (2016), Hess Corporation proposed a novel well-optimization approach after Bakken field studies were conducted on
the basis of well time dependence, low gas/oil ratio (GOR), and low water cuts. A production increase in the range of 17 to 26% was
achieved from three wells investigated. In SRP application to Hess Bakken wells, tubing leaks have historically been a perennial prob-
lem due to tubing coupling wear in the deviated well section. To address this problem, Curran et al. (2018) installed an advanced sucker
rod coupling (ToughMet 3 TS95) in the lateral section of over 650 unconventional Hess wells. The hardness of the coupling is similar
to L-80 steel (HRC 21 vs. HRC 23), its low friction when sliding against steels makes it highly compatible with the production tubing,
and its alloy also provides improved corrosion resistance. In the results, the authors observed a reduction in tubing wear, historical
mean time before tubing failure was exceeded by wells with the newly installed couplings, and no failure was observed.

Case Study 2—ESP. In the Belayim Marine field, Egypt, an intelligent ESP application approach was deployed by Belayim Petroleum
Company to restore production in a deep horizontal well with a maximum angle of 88 (Soegiyono et al. 2010). The field-tested
approach consists of an ESP fitted with a coil tubing-conveying pod system with a downhole multisensor wrapped around it. A tail pipe
section is incorporated underneath the ESP that is enclosed in the pod assemble. The field data result confirmed this approach as an
effective stimulation and clean-out process at various pump rates; acid exposure of the screens was also minimized through quick flow-
back, and well-intervention planning will be enhanced.
As a result of field depletion and low GOR in the horizontal wells of the Al Khalij Field, Qatar, ESP was installed to raise the pro-
duction rates. Some operators attempted to characterize the production along the long horizontal drain (Constant et al. 2007). Failure of
the production logging tool to pass through the Y-tool led to two unsuccessful field trials. Three categories of tractors (wheeled type,
two electric-hydraulic, and one electric) were introduced, which yielded significant improvement in the production operations, and
long-term optimization of the field was facilitated. Despite the successful installation of three ESP systems in a horizontal well in the
Rijn Oilfield, Netherlands, the ESP began to gas lock shortly after the first well completion (Bruijnen and de Boer 2016). Fig. 4 shows
that after the third completion and utilization of ESP hardware solutions, the average run time was increased dramatically for trip-free
ESP completion from a lowly 8 hours. This was achieved by raising the ESP frequency to improve the gas handling/separation perfor-
mance and choking the well back simultaneously to prevent a fall in the PIP. Installing ESP systems in the horizontal and multilateral
wells with isolation valves for intelligent completions and a successful ESP replacement is needed to achieve high production
rates without formation damage (Shafiq and Adlene 2015). The surface formation isolation valve (SFIV) is installed to improve well
integrity by allowing well barrier surface actuation. When the SFIV is combined with a hydraulic wet mate connect, the possibility of
changing multiple ESPs without inducing additional rig time and saving well cost and without pulling the lower intelligent completion
is achieved.
Despite huge pumping capacity of ESP in the high-gas rate, deep horizontal wells in the Permian Basin, Texas, handling excessive
gas interference has been a challenge. Installation and operation of ESPs in the Permian Basin was characterized by the following limi-
tations: excessive heat (accounts for over 50% of failures), abrasive action due to sand production, oversized ESP, and ESP cable/
pothead failure. In addressing these problems, Production Plus Energy Services Inc. developed and field tested the Horizontal Enhanced
Artificial Lift System (HEAL SystemÔ) (Kimery et al. 2017). The HEAL System is composed of a HEAL seal, a HEAL vortex
separator, and a sized regulating string (SRS). The length and internal diameter of the SRS are designed specifically to accommodate a
certain range of reservoir pressures and expected production rates over the life cycle of a well. The HEAL System is constructed with
no moving parts and does not extend to the lateral section, to optimize reliability and reduce operational risks.
A more simplified method to increase double-gas separation named casing gas separator is also efficient production/optimization in
the horizontal wells (Snyder et al. 2018; Snyder and Ellithorp 2019). During the first field test with another operator, the ESP system
was installed in two Wolfcamp wells: one with an ESP and another well switching from GL to ESP. The result showed a greatly
increased fluid production rate compared with previous production trends as the first well had 185% total fluid production increase and
the second well had 115% increase. Notwithstanding the higher drawdown achieved by the first field test, there was an unanticipated
shorter run life of the two ESPs. In the second field test with HEAL System which was implemented in the Peace River Arch region,
Canada, the following successes were achieved: critical velocity was achieved, PIP was greatly reduced from the first test, ESP run life
exceeded the previous test’s failure time, and much higher gas production rates were achieved.
A double-staged gas separation was developed to disintegrate the gas slug and prevent the free gas from entering the ESP (Loaiza
and Gonzalez 2018). This technique is designed to force free gas move around the shroud and come out through the production casing,
while the reservoir fluid is compelled to pass through an additional Guardian Shield gas separator. This approach enables quick gas sep-
aration and maintains lower motor temperature. Introduction of this technique in the horizontal wells has reduced the operating expense
of operators by minimizing well interventions, decreasing failures in the pump due to overheat. A state-of-the-art innovative packer-
type gas separator was presented in Gonzalez et al. (2019). It is designed to create a flow path through the gas separator by adding a cus-
tomizable packer that seals the section below the gas separator. The new packer-type separator is composed of three additional sections:
the outlet section, middle section, and the intake section. All these three sections are connected using the Dual Flow System, to provide
open area that exceeds the traditional connectors, to eradicate the risk of plugging issues by sand or chemical deposits. Furthermore,
this novel system provides a constant flow regime and breaks the gas slugs when they are flowing through the tool.
To eliminate premature ESP failures in the horizontal wells due to gas locking, EOG Resources developed a novel gas separator
named “Ninja” liquid concentrating intake (Kennedy et al. 2017), and it was installed on the company’s low-flow rate horizontal wells
in Bakken formation, North Dakota. In the Ninja, flow loops are used for horizontal well behavior modeling, flow regime study, and
tool performance measurement. A simulated rod pump is installed in the flow loop to enable the production of fluid from a slugging
wellbore. The Ninja is not designed to operate as a reverse flow separator which would require wellbore flow reversal to improve

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natural phase separation. Although the wells have experienced eight ESP failures in 2 years and the average run time of each pump was
merely 68 days, installation of Ninja along with a new pump achieved the following success: improved drawdown pressure (additional
200 psi), extended pump run life by enabling it to be run in fixed frequency, reduced surging PIP, and significantly raised the production
rates (Fig. 5). Some of the challenges to the ESP operations in Pearsall Field (Austin Chalk) are, but not limited to, reducing the
mechanical risk in the horizontal openhole wells during installation/workover, minimizing the effects of gas/liquid slugging, obtaining
additional drawdown pressure, and operating the ESP over a wider range of production rates. In overcoming these challenges, Oryx
Energy Co. (later acquired by Anadarko) developed and tested a new shrouded dip tube design in the Pearson field, Texas, on ESPs in
10 horizontal wells (Freet and McCaslin 1992) and yielded the following: increased drawdown pressure (265 psi), natural fluid separa-
tion in the horizontal wellbore section, reduction/elimination in free gas entering the dip tube, and the possibility of ESP application
over a wider range of rates was achieved.

Start
production Pump first
failure
Workover
Pump second
failure
Workover
2014 2016

Drilling and
completion
First ESP operation Pump run time: 8 hours
Operational attempts
to stop gas locking
Analytical approach to
find solution for the
second completion
Active reservoir
pressure management
Pump run time:
Second ESP operation
50 hours
Operational attempts
to stop gas locking
Analytical approach to
find solution for the
third completion
Numerical approach to
find solutions for the
third completion
Third ESP operation Stable production

Fig. 4—Gas locking solutions approach for a horizontal well in Rijn Oilfield (after Bruijnen and de Boer 2016).

Application of the ESP systems in Mississippian Lime wells according to Bridges et al. (2016) was faced with limitations including
mechanical damage due to high dogleg severity (DLS) passage, rapid production decline, high gas/liquid ratio (GLR), and low liquid
inflow during gas slugging. A field test was conducted on 10 horizontal wells in this Mississippian Lime, Oklahoma, having ESPs
installed flangeless connections and obtained the following results: optimum drawdown was achieved, and ESP systems successfully
deployed through DLS > 21 /100 ft without negatively impacting system performance and production. In Britvar and Williams (2017),
Oasis Petroleum attempted to enhance the application of the ESP in the unconventional horizontal wells in the Williston Basin, North
Dakota, but encountered failures with cable failure accounting for 47.37% of the total failure, pump failure 16.96%, tubing failure
12.87%, motor failure 8.77%, intake/gas separator 2.92%, seal 2.92%, sensor 1.17%, and others 7.02%.The ESP improvement approach
adopted by Oasis Petroleum addressed training, causes of historic failure, improved real-time monitoring/diagnosis, failure tracking,
and other areas. A decrease in the total operation cost and a rise in the production are some of the additional benefits of an extended
pump run time after implementation of their field trial.

Case Study 3—Hydraulic Jet Pump. In Kurkjian (2018), the effect of gas on downhole jet pump, its application to the sizing of jet
pump before installation, and the subsequent effect on the production/optimization was investigated using the Cunningham Modified
Model. One of the drawbacks of this approach is its limitation to use only stable production days. The field validation of this
model showed that increasing the variable frequency drive reduces the PIP, and the jet pump lifted 1956 B/D liquid with 586 Mscf/D of
associated gas.

Case Study 4—Plunger Lift. In Sask et al. (2010), pushing to optimize fluid production with plunger lift in the Greater Sierra Field’s
horizontal wells, Canada, the Encana company faced some challenges including formation liquid slugging along the horizontal well-
bore, liquids back-leakage through the check valve at high deviation (>45 ), and an increased friction between the bumper spring
assembly and the plunger in a highly deviated section. The application of the plunger control software development enclosed into the
SCADA control system in this Greater Sierra field resulted in a significant increase in volume of fluid production and production time.
Another challenge of plunger lift in the horizontal wells is the shift from its usual vertical position to a horizontal well orientation. The
effect of plunger orientation was tested using a total well management (TWM) program on plunger lift systems in seven horizontal

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Marcellus Shale wells (Khalil et al. 2019) to investigate the cycles of the plunger lifting as it relates to plunger fall velocities and fall
depths (Kravits et al. 2011). This computer program consists of three important parameters (acoustic trace, casing, and tubing pressures)
provided by the testing equipment in real time. The result from 53 TWM tests conducted shows the possibility of plunger to fall faster
below the kickoff point (KOP; plungers traveling up to 90 ) and finally reach a terminal deviation angle of 74 .

700
ESP without Ninja ESP with Ninja

600

500
Oil Production (B/D)

400

300

200

100

0
15 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 Oil production
r 20 20 20 20 il 20 20 20 20 t 20 r 20 r 20 r 20
y y h ay ne ly
be ar ar rc pr Ju us be be be Forecast oil
m nu ru a A M Ju g
em to m
e Ja b M 18 18 18 18 Au t c ve PIP
ec Fe 18 18 ep O
No
D 18 18 (a) S 18
18 18 18 Pump failure

900
ESP without Ninja ESP with Ninja
850

800

750

700
PIP (psi)

650

600

550

500

450

400
15 16 16 16 01
6 16 16 16 01
6 16 16 16
r 20 20 20 20 il 2 20 20 20 t2 r 20 r 20 r 20
y y h r ay ne ly s
be ar ar ar
c
Ap M Ju Ju gu be be be
m nu ru M 18 18 Au em ct
o m
ce Ja Fe
b 18 18 pt O ve
De 18 18 Se No
18 18 18
18 (b) 18 18

Fig. 5—Field test result showing before and after Ninja installation on ESP (after Kennedy et al. 2017).

As reported by Nascimento et al. (2015) in the three Horn-River shale horizontal gas wells, Canada, the minimum flow rate for
assessment of plunger lift fickleness was analyzed using different well trajectories, and the authors suggested that a dynamic simulator
be adopted in appraising plunger lift efficiency and optimizing the startup of horizontal multistaged gas wells. The computational fluid
dynamics model was used to address plunger uneven wear and gas blow-by, which account for dominant additional problems limiting
plunger lifts in the horizontal wells (Longfellow and Green 2014), but its application can be limited due to unsteady multiphase flow in
tubing that is horizontal or inclined.

Case Study 5—Progressing Cavity Pump. Installation of progressing cavity pumps (PCPs) supported the development and produc-
tion of the horizontal wells in Llancanelo Field, Argentina, where the PCP was landed at 1197 m and 90 from the vertical reference
(Monasterio and Gusberti 2015). The field-test result over an 8-year period showed a significant increase in production from 7600 m3
(47,340 bbl) to 21 727 m3 (136,662 bbl) annually.
In the Brown Fields of Southern Oman, complications in gaining access to the horizontal section of the formation due to tight-
surface geometries of the PCP system, and challenges in aquifer identification making water shutoff methods impotent, have limited the
operations of over 400 PCP wells (Al Shukri and Abou-ElKhair 2009). While solving these problems, Petroleum Development Oman
developed and installed a new PCP design with a special dual anchor in 10 wells which can accommodate two tubing strings (produc-
tion and intervention) at the same time. The result from the production test after water shutoff showed a drop in water cut from 100 to
65%, a significant increase in the oil production rate from 1 to 32 m3/d, and a dramatic reduction in the cost of workover operations.

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Case Study 6—Other AL Methods. An innovative AL system was developed and applied in over 30 unconventional horizontal wells
in the Daqing Oilfield, China, named electrical submersible reciprocating pumping system (ESRP) (Wensheng et al. 2012). The ESRP
is identical to the ESP system, except for its reciprocating motor and pump. In field-test results, the authors showed that the total pro-
duction rate raised from 35 to 66 B/D, daily power consumption reduced from 108.79 to 64.13 kWh, and the overall electricity-saving
rate raised by 41.1%. The ESRP also increased the power factor by 0.644, the pump efficiency by 65.1%, and the system efficiency by
9.3%.
Artificial sump pumping system (ASPS) (Elmahbes and Quintero 2017) was developed and applied to the unconventional horizontal
wells in North America to eliminate declining production due to repeated ESP shutdowns. The ASPS functions like an ESP with an
inverted shroud and is made up of a recirculation to cool the ESP motor. There is an enhanced motor lead extension in the covered
system to prevent the cable from being damaged during run in hole. The ASPS was installed to replace three previously installed ESPs
with an average run life of 157 days. Field data from the after installation of ASPS showed (from Table 4) that production rate yielded
a 90 BOPD increase, reduced the amount of free gas entering the pump, increased PIP, and extended the average run life of the
pumping system.

Conventional ESP ASPS

Free gas entering into pump 64% 7%
Average number of shutdowns 2 0 (No shutdowns related to gas slugs)
Average oil production 130 B/D 220 B/D
Average PIP 915 psi 712 psi (steadily declining pressure)
Average pump run life 157 days 332 days (pump still running)

Table 4—Field result of conventional ESP vs. ASPS (Elmahbes and Quintero 2017).

The novel AL pump named electrical submersible progressive cavity pump (ESPCP) (Taufan et al. 2005) was developed and applied
to Kulin horizontal wells in the Duri field, Indonesia. This ESPCP is a combination of the ESP and PCP systems, designed to eliminate
friction between the wellhead stuffing box and rod. An ESPCP is made up of a PCP with single rotor which moves inside a stator, two-
pole ESP motor, a gear reducer, seal section, flex shaft, and ESP intake base. The ESPCP is run using VSD with its operation initiated
at the surface, to regulate head efficiency, pump efficiency, and flow rates. The challenges faced by operators in application of ESPCP
in two Kulin horizontal wells are lack of fluid production while the pump was running (solved through back-flushing the pump by
reversing the motor), and a high wellhead pressure (solved by tying the surface production line and production line from an offset well).
The field results in Fig. 6 showed an increased pump efficiency (56 to 66%), rise in oil production from approximately 300 BOPD/well
to 531 BOPD (Well 1) and 394 BOPD (Well 2).

9000
800 days pump run
8000
Oil Production (BOPD)

7000
450 days pump run
6000 Field production without horizontal wells
Field production from horizontal Well 1
5000 Field production from horizontal Well 2
4000

3000

2000
1 January
1 March
1 May
1 July
1 September
1 November
2 January
2 March
2 May
2 July
2 September
2 November
3 January
3 March
3 May
3 July
3 September
3 November
4 January
4 March
4 May

Fig. 6—Field test result showing production from two Kulin horizontal wells after ESPCP installation (after Taufan et al. 2005).

Some of the long-term operational problems affecting the horizontal wells with sand production was addressed with an innovative
ESPCP system (Rushby and Denholm 2013). The system is composed of rare Earth magnets which enables a permanent magnet motor
and torque converter to be designed and deployed for through-tubing. High torque provided by downhole magnetic drive train is applied
directly to a PCP located at the bottom of the system. The ESPCP was installed and tested in the San Joaquin Valley fields, California,
which resulted in reduced sand-related failures, less workover operations, and in turn reduced total cost, and the system achieved a
stable production rate of 50 BOFPD.
A cutting-edge AL system called “permanent magnet motor-hydraulically regulated-progressive cavity pump” (PMM-HR-PCP)
(Kommaraju et al. 2016) was designed to address the limitations by SRP and PCP in the horizontal wells in a heavy oil green field oper-
ated by Kuwait Oil Company. PMM and VSD control the operations of this novel AL system, and the controls are attached to a down-
hole motor that directly drives an HR PCP. This AL system can be applied in heavy oil wells, offshore wells, wells originally
completed with ESPs but suffered emulsion formation, and high sand and gas. The results from seven field tests (Table 5) showed a
20% increased liquid production rate and an extended pump run life, and over 80% of free gas removed at the pump intake.

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Speed Liquid Rate Water Cut

Pilot Test (rev/min) (B/D) (% v/v) PIP (psi)
1 (2 April 2015) 150 202 22.3 76
2 (13 April–18 May 2015) 160 228 20.2 66
3 (19 May–31 May 2015) 170 235 19.3 63
4 (2 June–12 July 2015) 180 238 18.5 60
5 (13 July–15 September 2015) 200 252 18.7 52
6 (13 July–15 September 2015) 220 261 18.5 48
7 (13 July–15 September 2015) 240 270 19.3 36

Table 5—Field result of PMM-HR-PCP application in a heavy oil green field, Kuwait (Kommaraju
et al. 2016).

Chamber GL (Hardegree et al. 2018, 2020) is another unique AL system consisting of deep GL and intermittent GL, which was
installed in two horizontal wells in the Wolfcamp, Texas, USA, to solve the lack of drawdown from KOP to total vertical depth. The
field test was initially affected by slickline run limitations and restriction to flow due to hard paraffin buildup which was cleared up by
xylene treatment. The result showed a significant increase in the production of oil gas and water while the orifice valve operated as a
deep GL and the pilot valve operated as chamber GL with a plunger cycling.
Hydraulic fracturing is a widely accepted completion technique in the unconventional formations across the world (Kolawole and
Ispas 2019a, 2019b; Kolawole et al. 2019a; Zheng et al. 2019). The use of a wide range of AL systems applicable to the unconventional
horizontally fractured wells was investigated in three Texan fields (Jackson 2018), and their results are presented in Fig. 7. Elmer et al.
(2017) suggested the high-pressure GL as a potential AL method to optimize fluid production in the horizontal wells, which can effec-
tively ensure well production up to 50 BLPD at 290 psia from 3,000 BLPD at over 2,000 psia.

Field result of jet pump vs. ESP vs. GL

Replacement of GL with hydraulic

jet pump (in Wilcox formation)

Horsepower to lift the well (hp)

Replacement of ESP with hydraulic Gas (Mcf/D)
jet pump (Permian Basin) Water (B/D)
Oil (B/D)

Replacement of stroke rod pump with hydraulic

jet pump (in Eagle Ford)

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Fig. 7—Field result of jet pump vs. ESP vs. GL (Jackson 2018).

Pankaj et al. (2018) conducted a sensitivity study using a calibrated Earth model from the deep long unconventional horizontal well
in Eagle Ford Shale Basin. The authors showed that increase in DLS raises the possibility of wellbore slugging and liquid hold up.
A new AL method was developed and installed with a packer-type gas separator via a velocity string combined with additional GL
assist to improve the efficiency of gas separation and allow the reservoir fluids below the pump to be lifted above the pump (Mazzanti
and Dixon 2016). This velocity string design was installed and tested in two unconventional horizontal wells (Austin Chalk in Fayette
County and Buda-Georgetown in Grimes County). The result (Fig. 8) revealed that (i) in Well 1, the oil, gas, and water production rate
was optimized to 9 BOPD, 30 Mcf/D, and 40 BWPD, respectively, from before-installation rates of 1 BOPD, 10 Mcf/D, and 1 BWPD;
(ii) in Well 2, the well was dead before installation, but the production rates for oil, gas, and water were optimized to 10 BOPD,
25 Mcf/D, and 100 BWPD, respectively. The surfactant batch treatment (SBT; Gcali et al. 2018) was introduced as an alternate
AL method in the production of fluids from the unconventional horizontal wells. Although the well cleanup time was not considerably
improved after installation, the SBT eliminated slug production and raised the reservoir fluid production.
The application of a newly developed and installed gas anchor into the lateral wellbore section of the horizontal wells located
in the Permian Basin was highlighted in Watson et al. (2018) and Karmon et al. (2019). In the results, the authors observed an opti-
mized gas/liquid separation process when the tool was placed in a stratified flow regime. This gas anchor can be used in SRP and
ESP applications.
In the Permian Basin, Pronk et al. (2019) proposed and confirmed that annular single-point high-pressure GL is a viable option for
lifting high liquid volumes than failure-prone ESPs applied to the horizontal wells. The gas-assisted plunger lift (GAPL) was also
installed in the horizontal wells by EP Energy (Myers 2018). Although the authors emphasized the challenges to application of GAPL,
but its cost-effective approach makes it reliable for maintaining optimum base production. Anadarko’s tubing inspection program
started in 2014 has shown critical impact in the reduced AL failure rates over the past 5 years (Reeves and Restrepo 2019).

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BOPD
(McfPO) Production Rate vs. Time for Well 1
10,000
3.5 BOPD +
15 BOPD +
15 Mcf/D

1,000
AL
installation

100

10

1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 01 01 01 01
r y 1 ry 1 ry 1 ry 1 ry 1 ry 1 ry 1 ry 1 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2
a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a
nu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu
Ja J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Produced gas
(a) Produced oil

BOPD Production Rate vs. Time for Well 2

1,000

9 BOPD +
50 BWPD

100

AL
installation

10

1
95 996 997 998 999 000 001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014
19 1 y 1 ry 1 ry 1 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2 ry 2
a ry ary ar a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a
anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu anu
J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
(b)

Fig. 8—Field result showing optimized production from two horizontal wells after velocity string design installation (after Mazzanti
and Dixon 2016).

A novel GL design method was developed by Production Lift Companies and Concho Resources and installed in two Permian Basin
unconventional wells (Estrada and Miller 2019). The GL design is on the basis of GLR-based high-rate GL method. Close spacing of
the higher valves enables quick unloading of the valves and facilitates the transition of upper valves to lower valves. The optimum
working condition of the newly design GL is when the static bottomhole pressure, flowing bottomhole pressure, and PI are determined.
The under reamer location in the bottomhole assemble and above the logging-while-drilling tool in a horizontal well creates a long
rathole section that is not enlarged. This hole creates an additional problem for AL installation in the horizontal wells past the KOP.
Tilley et al. (2015), Khalil et al. (2016), Sonny et al. (2016), and Greenwood (2018) proposed efficient methods of eliminating ratholes
in the horizontal wells so as to mitigate some AL application in tight formations such as pump fillage, gas handling, and equipment
installations in vertical or tangent.

Conclusions and Recommendations

This paper provides a comprehensive review of AL system applications in the unconventional horizontal wells. More than 35 case stud-
ies from various fields across the world are incorporated. The total optimized fluid production increment ranged from 10 to 185% of the
previous fluid production before installation of ALs. While the majority of the field projects have produced successful results, there are
still some test projects requiring further investigations.
A statistical analysis from the entire field-test data shows that
1. Rod pump run life can extend to over 1,038 days.
2. ESP failure was reduced to as much as 50%.
3. 80% of free gas in the PMM-HR-PCP and ESPs can be removed at the pump intake.
4. Pump efficiencies in most of the cases discussed were improved up to 65%.
To provide cutting-edge industry solutions to AL applications in the horizontal wells, significant recommendations from those case
studies are highlighted below:
1. For SRPs: Improvement of long-lasting carbon fiber, light, and corrosive-resistant sucker rods.
2. For GLs: Downhole gas burning with the aid of differential temperatures to lift the liquids to the surface (Jacobs 2015).

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3. For all ALs:

a. Incorporating a condition-based monitoring technology for interventions/maintenance to be carried out before lift system failure.
b. Permanent fiber-optic field installations and distributed acoustic sensing recycling to detect early signs of system failure
(Jacobs 2015).
c. Efficient tubing inspection program to reduce AL failure rate in the horizontal wells (Reeves and Restrepo 2019).
d. Research on cutting-edge techniques for gas separation for AL equipment, and the placement of AL in the horizontal wellbore
section should be continued.

Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Southwestern Petroleum Short Course Association (SWPSC) and Bob L. Herd department of Petroleum
Engineering, Texas Tech University, for the resources provided for this study.

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