Operating principle artificial lift

Early in its production life, the reservoir pressure may be sufficient to sustain natural flow. After
certain time of production, natural drive energy of the reservoir will become not strong enough
to push the oil to the surface. A process called artificial lift is used on oil wells to increase
pressure within the reservoir and push oil to the surface. It also can recover more production.
Even those wells that initially posse natural flow to the surface, that pressure depletes over
time, and artificial lift is then required. There are two methods of artificial lift include pumping
system and gas lift.

First method of artificial lift is pumping system and these are the examples;

1. Beam pumping/ sucker rod pump

This the most common applied artificial lift pump system to increase pressure and push oil
to the surface. It consists of a sucker rod string and sucker rod pump. At the surface, the
beam pumping system rocks back and forth. This is connected to a string of rods called
the sucker rods, which push down into the wellbore. The sucker rods are connected to the
sucker rod pump, which is installed as a part of the tubing string near the bottom of the
well. This method works similarly to pistons inside a cylinder. The sucker rod pump lifts
the oil from the reservoir through the well to the surface. This pumping units are operated
electronically or by gas engine.

Figure shows the beam pumping system.

2. Electric submersible pump

ESP system used a centrifugal pump below the level of the reservoir fluids and connected
to a long electric motor. The pump is composed of impellers, or blades, that move the
fluids within the well. The system is installed at the bottom of the tubing string. An electric
cable runs the length of the well, connecting the pump to a surface source of electricity.
The electric submersible pump applies artificial lift by spinning the impellers on the pump
shaft, putting pressure on the surrounding fluids and forcing them to the surface.

3. Hydraulic pump

This equipment applies a downhole hydraulic pump to lift oil to the surface. It composed
of two pistons which connected by a rod that moved up and down within the pump. A
surface hydraulic pump pressurizes crude oil called power oil, which drives the bottom
pump. The production is forced against the pistons, causing pressure and the pistons to
lift the fluids to the surface. Both the surface hydraulic pumps and subsurface hydraulic
pumps are powered by power oil, which is the clean oil that has been previously lifted from
the well. The surface pump sends the power oil through the tubing string to the subsurface
hydraulic pump installed at the bottom of the tubing string, the reservoir fluids are then
sent up a second parallel tubing string to the surface.
4. Processing cavity pump

It is a screw type pump that provides a force for fluids to travel through the pump. It
composed of rotor, stator, sucker rod string and surface drive control. The stator sits on
the bottom of the production string while the rotor is connected to the sucker rod. The
rotation of the rods by means of an electric motor at surface causes the fluid contained in
a cavity to flow upward. The sucker rod string is driven by a surface drive system,
consisting of an electric motor, transmission and a belt system. PCP pumps are limited to
production of less than 5,000 barrel/day and widely used in producing heavy oil and high
sand content crude.

Figure above illustrates the components of processing cavity pump

Second method of artificial lift is gas lift system;

5. Gas lift

This method is done by injecting compressed gas into the well to re-established pressure
so that oil can move up to the surface. The injected gas will reduce the pressure at bottom
hole of the well by decreasing the viscosity of the oil. This encourages oil to flow easily to
surface. Occurring down hole, the compressed gas is injected down the casing tubing
annulus, entering the well at numerous entry points called gas-lift valves. As the gas enters
the tubing at these different stages, it forms bubbles, lightens the fluids and lowers the
pressure.

Figure above shows the process of gas lift

Compare and contrast

1. Processing cavity pump

Application:-
This pumping system consists of two parts which are rotor and stator. The stator is run
into the well on the bottom of the production tubing, while the rotor is connected to the
bottom of the sucker rod string. Rotation of the rod string by means of a surface drive
system causes the rotor to spin within the fixed stator, creating the pumping action
necessary to produce fluids to surface. The applications of this pumping system are
used for situation such as high viscosity oil, low productivity oil, directional well and
high sand cut well.
Advantages:-
 Moderate cost
 Unobtrusive surface location with downhole motor
 Can use downhole electric motors that handle sand and viscous fluid well
 High electrical efficiency
 Disadvantages:-

 Elastomers in stator swell in some well fluids

 Pump off control is difficult. Lose efficiency with depth
 Rotating rods wear tubing
 Rod windup and after spin of rods increase with depth
 Sand and solids quickly wear chrome off of rotor

2. Gas lift
Application:-
This method uses an external source of high pressure gas for supplementing formation
gas to lift the well fluids. The principle of gas lift to reduce the density of fluid in tubing
by injecting the compressed gas and also lower the flowing bottomhole pressure (BHP)
at the bottom of the tubing. This method is applicable for lifting fluids in well that have
a notable amount of gas produced with crude oil and highly deviated wells that produce
sand.
Advantages:-
 Easy to obtain downhole pressures and gradients
 Lifting gassy wells is no problem
 Sometimes serviceable with wireline unit
 The individual-well downhole equipment is relatively inexpensive
 high overall reliability and lower operating costs

Disadvantages:-

 Difficult to lift emulsions and viscous crudes

 Gas freezing and hydrate problems
 Casing must withstand lift pressure
 Safety problem with high pressure gas
 Wide well spacing and lack of space for compressors on offshore platforms

References
  How Does Artificial Lift Work?. RIGZONE. Retrieved from
https://www.rigzone.com/training/insight.asp?insight_id=315&c_id=
 Progressing cavity pump (PCP) systems. Retrieved from
https://petrowiki.org/Progressing_cavity_pump_(PCP)_systems#Applications
 Relative advantages and disadvantages of artificial lift systems. Retrieved
from
https://petrowiki.org/Relative_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_artificial_lift
_systems#Progressive_cavity_pumps_2
 Progressive Cavity Pump (PCP). DALEEL Oil and Gas Supply Chain Portal.
Retrieved from https://www.scmdaleel.com/category/progressive-cavity-
pump-pcp/162

PCP Gas lift

Applications high viscosity oil, low
productivity oil, directional
well and high sand cut
well.
Advantages •Moderate cost
•Unobtrusive surface
location with downhole
motor
•Can use downhole
electric motors that handle
sand and viscous fluid well
•High electrical efficiency
well that have a notable
amount of gas produced
with crude oil and highly
deviated wells that produce
sand.
•Easy to obtain downhole
pressures and gradients
•Lifting gassy wells is no
problem
•high overall reliability and
lower operating costs
•high overall reliability and
lower operating costs

Disadvantages •Elastomers in stator swell •Difficult to lift emulsions

and viscous crudes
in some well fluids
•Gas freezing and hydrate
•Pump off control is problems
•Casing must withstand lift
difficult. Lose efficiency
pressure
with depth •Safety problem with high
pressure gas
•Rotating rods wear tubing
•Rod windup and after spin
of rods increase with depth
•Sand and solids quickly
wear chrome off of rotor