Simple Well improvement by Electric Submersible Pump Simulation using PIPESIM

Alex Armando Méndez Pérez

Petroleum Engineering, Universidad Politécnica Mesoamericana
English VIII
L.I María Elena Ramirez Pérez
March 7, 2022
 Contents

Introduction 3

Electric Submersible Pump 3

Simple well simulation 4

Results 5

References 6
 Water Well Drilling 3

Introduction Figure 2

Electric Submersible Pump ESP

The Electric Submersible Pump ESP is one of
most use artificial lift for high depths and productions
(Brown, 1984) how its name says, it is compound for
a electric pump that has many impellers called stages
to provide energy to the fluid, and that is of course
submersible as shown fig 2 and 1

Figure 1

ESP stages

A well in good conditions i.e. a well that does

not need an artificial lift can be identified by its IPR vs
tubing intake pressure TIP (Guo et al., 2014)where the
tubing intake pressure curve matchs in any point the
IPR as shown fig 2; unlike the same plot for a well that
needs to improve its conditions is shown in fig 4 it can
be see that there is not point of match

Figure 3

Stable well IPR vs TIP plot

 Water Well Drilling 4

Figure 4 Figure 5

Dead well IPR vs TIP plot Simulated Well Juliet

The reason for install ESP is to improve dead

wells by modified the TIP, the selection depends on the
casing diameter, efficiency pump, type of fluid, pump
characteristics, flow bottom hole pressure Pw f , etc.

Simple well simulation

PIPESIM is a multiflow phase simulator used

and development by the great offshore drilling com-
pany, flow can be simulated as well as components
from a oilfield such as the wellbore, wellhead and of
course a well. This case a simple well is simulated
as show fig 5 with a 7” outer diameter casing, 2 7/8”
outer diameter tubing (productions pipe), completions
at 9500 ft and packers at 8710 ft and the following
properties: flow bottom hole pressure 4000psi; water Figure 6
cut 80 per cent; temperature at bottom hole 200 F°; gas
oil ratio 500 SCF/STB as shown fig 6 Well properties
The properties of the fluid are shown in fig ??.
In this case a black oil fluid with ideal properties is
chosen.
IPR vs TIP curve is ploted using vogel equa-
tion (Brown, 1977)and it can be see as show fig 8 that
it does not exist a match point i.e. this well does not
have the enough pressure to lift the fluid to the sur-
face, it means that is a strong candidate for installing
an artificial lift, due to the fluid is black oil an ESP
installing will be simulated plus it is a deep well, these
two properties helps in the decision for using ESP in-
stead of another one artificial lift.
 Water Well Drilling 5

Figure 7 frequency is varied to 50, 60 and 70 Hz and the results

are shown in fig 10.
Fluid properties The performance curve of the pump is shown
in fig 9

Figure 9

Performance curve for ESP DN1800

Figure 8

IPR vs TIP

Figure 10

Nodal analysis with ESP

Results
For improving the productivity of the well a
ESP is installed, the desired productions is stablished
at 2000 STB/d (Barrels per day), it is chosen a pump
that satisfied this required and is manufactured by
REDA, model DN1800 with min flowrate 1200 bbl/d,
max flowerate 2400 bbl/d and max efficiency of 73.72
per cent for a flowrate of 1500 bbl/d. The nodal anal-
ysis is made varying the frequency of the motor of the
pump, this way can be selected the better option, the
 Water Well Drilling 6

The results for varying the frequency are: References

827.60 STB/d for 50 Hz, 1076.77 STB/d for 60 Hz and
Brown, K. E. (1977). Technology of artificial lift meth-
1249.99 STB/d for 70 Hz, due to the max efficiency as
ods. volume 1. inflow performance, multi-
shown fig 9 that is at 1500 bbl/d, the near value in
phase flow in pipes, the flowing well.
this case is for 70 Hz and max efficiency means less
Brown, K. E. (1984). The technology of artificial lift
electricity cost because that set will be used. Finally
methods, volume 4.
the pumps values are shown in fig 11.
Guo, B., Sun, K., & Ghalambor, A. (2014). Well produc-
Figure 11 tivity handbook. Elsevier.

Pump values