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Artificial Lift Systems and The 5 Ps

Operators commonly have two priorities regarding artificial lift operations: increase production and decrease
costs. So how can you increase your mature field production and decrease costs with respect to artificial lift
systems? The answer lies in the 5 Ps: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

A mature field is defined, not by its age, but rather by where it is relative to peak production. With this in mind,
the many challenges surrounding mature fields are related to:

Reservoir
Field productivity
Drilling
Completions

There are multiple ways to increase field and or well productivity. These include:

Artificial lift
Waterflooding
Chemical injection
Enhanced oil recovery (EOR)

From the list above, we see that artificial lift is one of the methods used to address production requirements in
order to improve ultimate recovery for a field or well. However, artificial lift systems are wide and varied, and the
key is to not necessarily choose the easiest, but to select the most appropriate method.

It appears that more often than not, the common method used in choosing an artificial lift system is a go to lift
system, generally due to opinions or familiarity, rather than an optimizing, strategic plan. I believe the answer to
the question posed above is proper planning; and proper planning includes artificial lift selection based on the
individual wells parameters, on a well by well basis, not on a field scale. An additional component to proper
planning is that selection of the most appropriate artificial lift method has to start when the reservoir, drilling,
and completion designs and decisions are being made.1

Types of Artificial Lift Systems

There are eight main types of artificial lift, and these can be divided into two main categories:

1. Pump-assisted process
2. Gas-assisted process

The table below shows the two main categories and the corresponding method of artificial lift.

Table 1. Artificial Lift Categories

Pump-Assisted Process Gas-Assisted Process

Rod Pump Gas Lift

Linear Lift System Plunger Lift

Hydraulic Piston Pump

Electrical Submersible Pump (ESP)

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Plunger Lift

Progressive Cavity Pump (PCP)

Positive displacement pumps (PDPs), such as rod pumps, hydraulic piston pumps,
and progressive cavity pumps contain a fixed amount of fluids that are trapped in a
cavity and forced to move in the designed direction. PDPs are evaluated based on
the volume of displaced fluid and not by the pressure increase generated by the
pump. On the other hand, electrical submersible pumps (ESPs) are multi-stage
centrifugal pumps classified as a dynamic displacement pump, allowing for unfixed
amounts of fluids to be displaced. Plunger lifts are unique because they use the
wells energy to lift relatively small volumes of liquid in gas wells. The premise of a
gas lift is that injected gas decreases the density of the reservoir fluid, thereby
decreasing the hydrostatic pressure of that fluid, hence allowing the produced fluid
to flow to the surface.

Different pumps and lift systems have their own design criteria and requirements,
but they all share a similar design methodology. These include:
Artificial Lift Linear Lift System
Proper data collection/accuracy
Accurate prediction of production rates
Downhole volumes
Determining total dynamic head (TDH)
Selection of downhole /surface equipment

Table 2 below shows an additional perspective on some driving design criteria and limitations of the lift systems
previously mentioned.

Table 2. Limitations for Selection of Artificial Lift Method

Rod Pump Progressive Gas Lift Plunger Lift Hydraulic Electrical

Cavity Piston Submersible

Operating 100-16,000 2,000-6,000 5,000-15,000 8,000-19,000 7,500-17,000 1,000-15,000

Depth
(ft TVD)

Typical 5-5,000 5-4,500 200-30,000 1-5 50-4,000 200-30,000

Operating
Volume (BPD)

Operating 100-500 75-250 100-400 130-500 100-500 100-400

Temperature
(F)

Corrosion Good to Fair Good to Excellent Good Good

Handling Excellent Excellent

Gas Handling Fair to Fair to Good Excellent Excellent Fair Poor to Fair
Good

Solids Fair to Excellent Good Fair Poor Poor to Fair

Handling Good

Fluid Gravity >8 <35 >15 GLR required >8 >10

(API) 300 SCF/BBL

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Build Angle <15/100 <15/100 N/A N/A <15/100 <10/100

Servicing Workover Workover or Wireline or Wellhead Hydraulic or Workover or

or Pulling Pulling Rig Workover Rig Catcher or Wireline Pulling Rig
Rig Wireline

Prime Mover Gas or Gas or Compressor Wells Natural Multicylinder Electric Motor
Electric Electric Energy or Electric

Overall 45-60 40-70 10-30 N/A unless 45-55 35-60

System compressed
Efficiency (%) gas added

Table 2 can be used to aid in the selection of the right type of lift, using the guiding parameters. Most of the
artificial lift methods have a wide range of depth and temperature applications. Relative to other lifts, depth and
temperature can be a limiting factor for PCP applications; however it is able to lift more dense fluids, as shown
in the Fluid Gravity row. This table also shows the importance that the artificial lift selection has relative to
each well and its characteristics.

Final Thoughts

Optimizing production and decreasing costs for an artificial lift system are interdependent and can be achieved
by properly planning a strategic design based on the consideration of both individual well characteristics and a
lift systems practical operational capabilities. For example, a common reason a well may be under-producing is
because the optimum lift system was not installed initially. Some examples of poor selection leading to under-
producing wells and/or high operating costs include, but are not limited to, decreased production due to pump
failure from gas-locking or solids production, and high operating costs because of excessive workovers due to
constant tubing wear issues. These two instances can lead to undesirable outcomes: reduced production and
increased costs to down time for workovers or pump maintenance.

There are many well parameters that go into choosing the best lift system for a well including the bottom hole
pressure, type of produced fluid, amount of fluid to be produced, wellbore geometry, offshore or onshore surface
location, and total well depth. Sometimes not all of the parameters are known, which can make the selection
even more challenging. And because of the unknowns, this method may not always be applicable. By planning
in a timely fashion and going about choosing the artificial lift system from a strategic standpoint versus a thats
what weve always done approach will potentially help increase production and decrease costs.

Sources

1 Recommendations and Comparisons for Selecting Artificial-Lift Methods J.D. Clegg, S.M. Bucaram, N.W.
Hein, Jr.

2 Petroleum Production Systems M. J. Economides, A.D. Hill, and C.E.Economides

3 Artificial Lift Systems Petroskills Course Material

November 14, 2012

Category: Mature Fields
Posted by: Caty Hein

Caty Hein
Consultant Halliburton Consulting

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Caty Hein graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with two Engineering Degrees: one in Geosystems Engineering and
Hydrogeology, and the second in Petroleum Engineering. She started her career at Halliburton as a well planner for Sperry Drilling.
As a well planner, she developed and honed her skills in optimizing well placement and trajectories, for single and multi-well pads,
in the Eagle Ford and Haynesville Shale Plays.

6 thoughts on Artificial Lift Systems and The 5 Ps

Jay Roemisch
November 15, 2012 at 2:48 pm

Caty, on the table explaining the advantages and disadvantages, you show the ESP to be poor to fair on handling gas. Because
of our new gas by-pass system we are able to handle gas up to 4-5 million mcf/day and still operate with no down time. That is
what has made Global, Halliburtons ESP business line, a differentiater in the ESP business. I have pumps in a CO2 field that are
handling up to 3.5 million mcf of CO2 per day and operating on switchboards insstead of Variable speed controllers and not
having problems. You are right and that typically ESPs do not handle gas well, but we have been able to do things that we have
never been able to do because of our gas by-pas systems.

Caty Hein
November 28, 2012 at 8:00 am

Jay,
First of all, thanks for your comment. And secondly, you are very right in what you said about our ESPs and its capability to
handle gas. And the table explaining advantages and disadvantages does not reflect Halliburtons numbers, but rather the
numbers from a general standpoint.

art eliquid
June 28, 2013 at 6:15 am

Im amazed, I must say. Rarely do I come across a blog thats equally educative and interesting, and let me tell you, you have hit
the nail on the head. The problem is something too few men and women are speaking intelligently about. I am very happy I found
this in my hunt for something concerning this.

Caty Hein
July 3, 2013 at 11:31 am

Art,
Thanks for your positive comment, I appreciate it. And Im glad that you found it helpful.
Thanks,
Caty

Anto
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November 20, 2013 at 3:18 pm

Hi caty, very nice blog. I just wondering why you put artificial lift as a way to increase well productivity? as I know artificial lift is a
method to increase production but not productivity index. But I agree with Water injection, Chemical injection, Enhanced oil
recovery (EOR) related to well productivity.

Scott Emerson
December 12, 2013 at 3:49 am

Caty,
I am searching for data comparing the number of wells on rod pump vs. esp vs. gas lift and so on. Do you know if such data has
been compiled somewhere?
Thank you
ScottE

Comments are closed.

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