ESP Workshop The First Riser Deployed ESP in the Gulf of Mexico D. Cocciolone and M. Parker, SPE, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation; T. Pitts and M. Ohl, Baker Hughes Centrilft ‘pepr uot propre tr rcain at na 207 Sana Puiu SERIES SEES tae bee wg ha To {sow sas soe trenton te £58 Watoy Pani fing are ‘Canara he sot ae base, Pave ttt nemo oy ba £SF Wan Poe Sine smc b sorecee byt autos Tho Masi se Doveia Sas ML Sess rt sean oie ESP Won aa ars The Sessa once Prony Ay oft aaron onan dat Abstract Well East Breaks 690#1 is a 4-1/2 mile subsea tie-back to Anadarko's Nansen Spar, located in 3,640" of water in the Western Gulf of Mexico. The well produced 1.7 MMBO before pressure depletion caused slugging and frequent liquid loading in the 6” (5.625” ID) riser and the subsea flowline network. Loading of the riser occurred at a 5-10 % water cut, Teaving significant reserves in the ground and as such, it was desired to establish a viable form of artificial lif. Both gas lift and Centrilift’s patented electrical submersible pump (ESP) riser technology were analyzed as potential means of optimizing well production. ESP’s deliver higher rates than gas lift while producing more reserves, but more detailed planning is required for success, Issues arose such as high gas fraction, the need for power supply from the spar and the fabrication of a wellhead adapter to hang the tubing and ESP from the riser tieback. However, the potential for sizable production gains as well as additional recoverable reserves out ‘weighed technical issues that could be addressed and solved and an ESP system was chosen as the optimum solution. In February 2007, an ESP was installed in the subsea riser leading to the East Breaks 690#1 well. A Hydraulic Workover Unit (HWO) was rigged up on the Nansen Spar and the pump ‘was deployed on 2-7/8" tubing through the 6” riser. With the ESP allowing for a lower pressure at the riser base, multiple benefits have been and will continue to be realized neluding the elimination of slugging, higher fluid rates and the lowering of the reservoir abandonment pressure, Production increased from 1400 BOPD (when not loaded up) to 3500 BOPD after installation. Based on reserves produced to date, itis estimated that the installation of the ESP will increase ultimate recovery by 35% Introduction Well East Breaks 690#1, at a water depth of 4,200°, is a subsea tie-back located 4 "4 miles to the south of Anadarko’s Nansen Spar (additional data can be found in Fig. 1), Positioned approximately 118 miles south of Galveston in 3640" of water, the Nansen Spar consists of nine dry tree wells and six subsea wells. While all of the dry trea wells are capable of gas lift, none of the subsea wells have any form of artificial lift installed. Some of the subsea wells have been producing for over five years, and significant pressure depletion and increasing water production have had a significant negative impact on produced volumes. Therefore, developing engineering solutions to prolong the life of these subsea tie-backs is becoming inereasingly important. EB 690#1 is part of a three well subsea infrastructure, connected via a piggable flowloop to the two other subsea wells as shown in Fig. 2, Both wells on the other side of the flowloop are shut-in due to pressure depletion or high water cut. The flowloop has a $ 5/8" ID, the same as the flexible riser tied-back to the spar. Hydrates have been a major concern throughout the life ofthe subject well and at one point a hydrate formed in the flowline that had to be disassociated, by depressurizing the flowline with nitrogen. ‘Slugging of fluid is another issue in the well. Slugging was caused by a combination of liquid loading in the riser, low reservoir pressure and low flow rates (low riser velocity. Furthermore, the well became increasingly difficult to bring online after a shut-in, and at times would load up during normal operations. The nced for constant monitoring of this, well, along with the lack of sustainable production led to a review of anificial lif options. Development Options With slugging being the first issue at hand, methods were looked at to determine ways to alleviate this situation, The first option considered was to place a 2” velocity string in the 6° riser. This would be an effective approach to mitigate slugging, but would be ineffective in unloading the well, a concern as pressure depletion continued. Gas lift was then contemplated as a way to help unload the well. However, there was no means of gas lift in place in the wellbore flowline or riser. One option available was to send gas down a 4" line in the existing umbilical to the EB 6901 subsea pipeline end termination (PLET) just downstream of the tree.2 . Gocciolons and M. Parker, SPE, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation: T. Pitts and M. Chl, Baker Hughes Cent It was determined that a maximum of | MMCED could be sent down the line; however such a small volume would be insufficient for unloading the well and would not provide a long term artifical lift benefit. Since the 6” riser was the main cause of loading and slugging, options for lifting Muid through the riser were analyzed. Lifting through the riser would be relatively inexpensive when. compared to subsea intervention because the riser was accessible from the spar itself. Therefore, instead of gas lifting through an umbilical line atthe subsea PLET, gas lift in the riser was analyzed and could be accomplished by running tubing in the riser and installing a gas lift orifice valve. The process would be fairly quick and relatively inexpensive, thus ‘making ita viable option. This would aid in preventing liquid loading, and was considered a valid and quick option. However, it was still desired to lower the riser hydrostatic as. much as possible, with an ESP placed in the riser being considered a viable option. By boosting pressure at the base of the riser, an ESP could lower the intake pressure at this point and prevent slugging ftom occurring in the riser Furthermore, by lowering the intake pressure atthe riser base, this would lower the bottombole pressure at this point and prevent slugging from occurring in the riser. As an added bonus, the abandonment pressure would also be dropped, resulting in additional recoverable reserves being produced from the well. It then became clear that installing an ESP at the base of the riser would be the best option to mitigate slugging, prevent load up, produce at higher rates and increase ultimate recovery. The only question remaining was if the project was feasible to pursue on the Nansen Spar. Preliminary Work. The first step was to ensure adequate access to the riser itself, Fortunately, the risers on Nansen were designed to be accessible via coiled tubing if for some reason a washout of the flowline was required. A power supply was also needed and the Nansen Spar has two zenzrators capable of producing $000 KW of power. At the time, only 2000 KW were in use, leaving plenty of additional power fo run a pump. Areas on the platform were then found to accommodate the drive and transformers. It appeared that running an ESP down the riser was an achievable objective and therefore design work procesded. Pump and Wellhead Design The EB 690#1 was still a flowing well, prior to pump installation, capable of higher rates ifa further drawdown was achievable. The well was producing between 1100 and 180 BOPD, yet it was beginning to load up at times and was very hard to kick off after an extended shut-in. After modeling the wellbore, flowline and riser, it was concluded that the pump with the ‘maximum fluid throughput would be required. The well bad a low drawdown, a high productivity index (PI), was cked and was able to produce greater volumes if a larger drawdown could be achieved. Centrilit’s 400 series PGOSXD pump, with a high volume pump stage was selected, as tis capable of landing in a 3.625" diameter riser. Downhole and Surface Issues. Another issue aduressed was the high GOR of the well. At 1,000 scf/STB and a gas fraction at the pump intake of 46%, this was on the high side of what the pump was capable of handling at the design intake pressures, Fortunately, the existing set up allowed for options to reduce the gas fraction at the intake. With the ESP run on tubing inside the existing production path (the 6” riser), gas ‘could be separated prior to entering the pump and sent up the riser/tubing annulus to production. The liquids would be sent through the pump, up the tubing, and into the existing production manifold. In order to direct gas on the backside to various production vessels, a new manifold on the Nansen Spar would have to be constructed. One option desired was to send the annulus production to a test separator. This gives the ability to send the pump production (through tubing), annular production or the combination of both through the test separator. Now it is possible to 1) determine how much gas is entering the pump and 2) monitor the efficiency of the gas separator. To accomplish this, a downhole vortex separator ‘was planned to be run with the ESP assembly. With downhole separation sending gas to the annulus, special consideration would need to be taken regarding materials. Though the gas only had a COs concentration of 0.2 mole percent, the possibility of 4 MMCED of gas traveling up the backside meant that any equipment run in the rser would need to be COr corrosion resistant. Furthermore, the body of the risee consisted of 304L stainless steel and material compatibility was an issue. Because of these issues, all sting components where designated as stainless steel or equivalent. ‘The tubing would be composed of 13-Chrome, the cable protectors stainless steel, and the ESP housing chrome as well Because the integrity ofthe cable was of particular concern, it was decided to use a Monel” armor to protect the life of the cable and ensure material compatibility. A lead barsier was also requested to prevent any sort of gas from migrating into the line from the annular production. Downhole monitoring was also considered to be an important criteria with the well capable of such high production rates and because the lowline had previous occurrences of high pressure drops due to the onset of hydrates. A Centrilift 1" downhole gauge was included to monitor downhole pressure, temperature and motor temperature. The ability t© monitor the pressure drop between the subsea wallhead and the intake of the pump (near the base of the riser) would help in monitoring pipeline performance over the life of the well. At the first signs of any abnormal pipeline pressure drop, action could then be taken immediately ESP String Test. Other technical challenges to installation remained. The riser in which the ESP was to be run had no means of hanging tubing and therefore a wellhead would need to be fabricated and landed above the riser. The wellhead would Serve two purposes - the first as a location to land theP Workshop tubing hanger and the second to send the annular production to a new manifold. The wellhead had to be custom made in order for it to land on the adapter flange below and tie into the shut-down valves above. ‘The flexible riser that the ESP was placed in moves somewhat in rough weather conditions. However, with the ESP and tubing landed on a wellhead attached to the spar, movement, though slight, would be in the same line. Despite this, it was siill desired to ensure that the pump would see as litte vibration as possible given the conditions. The string test would serve to ensure proper fi-up of all downhole components as well as verify the operation of the system in a downhole environment. The test parameters monitored were head, flow, skin temperature of each system component and vibration signature of the system. All components of the downhole ESP assembly, from the Centine!™ to the pump itself, were run in the test well. During initial testing, vibration levels above recommended acceptance were noted in several components. Since these vibration levels were found at frequencies likely to be seen offshore, the components were disassembled and. critical components analyzed. Upon inspection, no visible or dimensional problems to the shaft, bearings or other components were found. The ESP was then assembled and retested, The resolution of the vibration instrumentation was inereased to further separate frequency peaks. With the finer resolution, the peaks were identified as half-speed oil whirl in the journal bearings. With this finding, an additional test was run with a higher viscosity motor oil . This brought the vibration readings within acceptable limits and still allowed for proper lubrication properties for the system at design operating conditions. ‘Modeling the well network in current conditions was tricky enough, and it was quickly realized that the well would need ‘many adjustments to optimize flow upon startup. Due to the $ mile long flowline, history of gas slugging and declining bottomhole pressure, it was obvious that a variable speed drive (VSD) would be necessary for control. Therefore a VSD was requested to handle the uncertainties and changing conditions, and although the spar has limited deck space available, adequate room was found to place the drive, transformers, annulus manifold and wellhead in secure locations. ESP Installation Three subsea wells are tied in the flowline and riser and each subsea well has three isolation valves at the tree as well as an SCSSV that can be closed to isolate well pressure, This ability to completely isolate the riser from pressure allows for ‘open access to the riser and flowline and greatly simplifies the operation. To be completely confident that the riser was safe to access during installation, it was planned to displace the flowline with 10.4 ppg calcium chloride (CaCl) to disassociate any potential gas pockets that re sd as well as ‘The First Risor Deployed ESP in the Gulf of Mexico a to clean any paraffin or buildup that may have accumulated over time, ‘A method of ESP installation was the next item to address. If Jointed tubing was to be run then either a platform rig or an HWO would be needed. Running the ESP via coiled tubing ‘was another option, but 2-7/8-inch chrome coiled tubing was rot available at the time. In the end, an HWO was the preferred method of installation, as it is quickly mobilized, inexpensive (low mobilization costs) and suitable for the job, Furthermore, with no pressure control needed, the noed for BOPs was eliminated saving on costs and rig up time, Although the HWO is not as fast at running tubing asa rig, the relatively short amount of pipe to be run made this less of a consideration After the flowline was displaced with uid, the flowline valves above the riser tie-back were nippled down and the wellhead fabricated for this job was made up to the existing ouble studded adapter as shown in Figs. 3a and 3b. This is where the tubing banger would be landed and cable penetrations made, With no pressure control required, the ESP and tubing were ‘un without any riser above the wellhead (Figs. 4a and 4b). A bell nipple was manufietured to allow for the diversion of fluid to a tank should any be displaced out of the flowline riser when running the ESP in the hole, The ESP assembly was essentially guided into the bell nipple above the wellhead. At the same time the cable was being spooled onto the pipe and clamped onto the tubing at the access window, as shown in 5. It took slightly less than 24 hours to run 3,124" of tubing and the downhole components with cable and clamps. With the desire to flow fluid up the annulus, there was no downhole packer to be set and the assembly is in no way rigidly connected to the riser downhole. ll the weight of the tubing and pump components are distributed at the wellhead. The tubing hanger was run through the HWO as well, and all penetrations through the hanger were made at the access ‘window pictured in Fig. 6 “The hanger was then landed and the tubing bonnet installed with the penetrator wires running through. "At this point in time, all work with the HWO was. complete Following the running of the ESP, the VSD was picked up and placed in the Motor Control Center. Previously, the laying of cable trays and pulling of eable had been completed. Now it was time to terminate wiring into the junction box, transformers and VSD. This, along with the Human Machine Interface (HMD programming would take a couple of days Drive Control, {t was desired to have full control of the ESP from the HMI interface the operators used. This required having a programmer on board to program these functions in Wonderware™, Anadarko's HMI system, From a computerscreen, the operator can control the two most important aspects of the pump. With a mouse lick, the pump can be started or stopped and frequency can be adjusted. Also, the Centinel™ relays the intake pressure, intake temperature and motor temperature to the screen along with other subsea data, This can all be wended with the touch of a button to better monitor and troubleshoot. Unloading CaCl,. Approximately 900 bbls of 10.4 ppg CaCl in the flowline and riser would need to be displaced before wellbore fluid would reach surface. ‘The heavy fluid initially gave the pump some difficulty as it took some time to speed up the pump to a minimum required frequency. Once the pump got up to speed, flow was rather erratic, with rates fuctuating wildly. However, once all the heavy fluid was out of the system, ates and pressures begin to behave as expected. Well Startup After the CaCls was displaced out ofthe line the purnp stated to run easier. It was observed that when running the pump at a target frequency, the downhole current would fluctuate significantly. The current would fluctuate anywhere from full, Joad (35 Amps) to underload conditions. These underload conditions were resulting from slugs of gas moving through the pump, causing it to nearly run in idle. In order to alleviate this, the pump was programmed to speed up whenever gas entered the pump (low curent conditions). The inereased frequency would allow the pump to do more work, avoiding extreme underload conditions. A high current limit was programmed in as well, When fluid would then hit the pump and the load would increase to near 35 Amps, frequency would automatically adjust lower until the maximum current remained at 35 Amps, preventing overload conditions. The frequency never adjusted lower than 54 Hz — still suficient speed to move Muid through the pump. The control for the ump continues to be set ata target current, with frequency being adjusted automaticaly to maintain a proper load After this adjustment was made, the EB 69041 was put into test by sending both the tubing and annulus to the test separator, A 12 hour well test resulted in production of 3931 BOPD, 39 MMCFD and 83 BWPD. Liquid dumping from the separator was at fairly constant rates, and slugging Was not a serious problem. One question remaining was the ratio of production between the tubing (pump) and annulus. ‘Therefore, the tubing was sent to the test separator and the annulus was sent ro the IP separator, with both vessels being at nearly the same pressure, This Would show not only rates from both sides, but also how much gas was being diverted to the annulus ~ basically how effective the gas separator was performing, Results of th Oil Production throu Gas Production through Pump: 2,142 BORD 1:8 MCFD, . Gocciolone and M. Parker, SPE, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation; T. Pits and M. Ohl, Baker Hughes Cental il Production through Annulus: 1785 BOPD Gas Production through Annulus: 2.1 MMCFD As shown, about $5% of oil production is produced through the pump, along with about 45% of the gas production. Surprisingly, a sizable amount of the Aids production is producing up the backside, Overall, itis apparent that the gas separator is not separating gas as efficiently as planned, however it appears this is not affecting total volumes. Pressure Response, ESP intake pressure at the base of the riser holds fairly steady at just under 800 psi, whereas uunboosted pressure at this depth was 1500 psi. This corresponds to a lower flowing tubing pressure, which is illustrated in Fig. 7. The pressure drop is transferred all the way to the perforations, and has greatly increased reservoir drawdown — to the point where the well is slightly choked back as to not exceed reservoir voidage guidelines. Flow rates before and after ESP installation can bee seen in Fig 8. Future Well Expectations It is expected that the EB 690#1 will continue to produce at higher rates due to the lowering of the bottomhole pressure, resulting in higher drawdown and the mitigation of severe slugging. By boosting the riser, it is anticipated that the abandonment pressure of the well will be lowered by S00 psi Looking at historical well production, a 500 psi abandonment pressure drop will inerease EUR of this well by an estimated Other Applications Anadarko is already looking at future applications for technology. Applications for ESP riser lift are in subsea tiebacks with no form of artificial lit previously sot up in the follow -nvironments — © Oil wells with gas fraction at pump low enough for an ESP to handle ~ downhole separation may be required © Confidence that the water cut will not rapidly increase over time with depletion, possibly resultin in unfavorable economics © Sulficient power on the facility to run the pump, along with adequate room for transformers and the drive ‘* A means of accessing the riser in order to run the ESP. © A riser in sufficient water depth to provide ‘meaningful pressure boosting. At the time of this writing, Anadarko has six spars and one TLP in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, all with subsea tisbacks. As the Wells become more mature and artificial lift fiold life, riser lift via ESP will becomes necessary to prolo be a viable option for many2007 ESP Workshop “The First Riser Deployed ESP inthe Gul of Mexico Conclusions Running an ESP in the riser tied into the flowline of the EB 690#1 well resulted in immediate benefits. Production increased by 2500 BOPD (2900 BOEPD), slugging was mitigated and liquid loading ceased to occur. Long term benefits will be realized as well as EUR is expected to increase by 35% with the lowering of the abandonment pressure. Overall economies look very sound, with F&D for this project under $4/BOE, With the success of the ESP instalation and results realized, other candidates will be evaluated as subsea wells continue to matureFig. 1—B: je Well and Pump Information QUANTITY ‘AMOUNT, AVG. BOPD 7,400 Before ESP 3,900 After ESP |SIBHP, PST 5,050 PUMP INTAKE PSI 730 GLR, SCFISTKBBL 7,000 APT, SP.GR 3 BHT, F 125 — reservoir 38 - static at pump TBG, 0.0.(IN) & WT. 2.875, 6.5, 13Cr |CSG, O.D(IN)&@WT. | 5.625 riser TVD Perfs, FEET 70,958 IMO Perfs, FEET 42,040 TVD Pump Intake 3179 MD Pump intake 3,201 SCALE (LIGHT, ETC) None [SAND None 2s 0% [coz 2 |ONSHORE/OFFSHORE Offshore Fig, 2 — Nansen Subsea Layout Nansen Spar 3 602 Wo = 3640" fond fic ESP installed in riser of Flowline 02 EB 690#4 flows up this tine,2007 ES° Workshop The Fist Riser Dosloyed ESP in the Gulf of Mexico DSA Fig, 3a ~ Existing Valves above Riser Tie-Back 3b New Wellhead Flanged Up to Existing . = . [Tubing and Cable ran bare]8 1. Coccislone and M. Parker, SPE, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation; T. Pits ard M Ohi, Baker Hughes Cent2007 ESP Workshop ‘The First Riser Deployed ESP inthe Gulf of Maxico ig. 7~ EB 690:41 Flowing Tubing Pressures Pre and Post ESP Installation 6 69081 DP-1: FTP Vs, Cum oi! “FT oc, P81 on ao FP organ. 51 TR wT 1000 3: 70080 a 700NNICE Joos exo aoe 4000 [eur 21nne0 ee ESP -Walleaioae Eve 261mioo (© 490000 eaao00 1.200000 610,000 apipeco 2400000 aacnace 2200000 3600000 4000000 cuM ou (eats) Fig. 8 - EB 69041 Flow Rate Pre and Post ESP Installation, 8 e908 Rate [Reape aa Pree ‘cum on (eats)