SPE-196592-MS

Comprehensive Review of Artificial Lift System Applications in Tight

Formations

Oladoyin Kolawole, Talal Gamadi, and Denny Bullard, Texas Tech University

Copyright 2019, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Eastern Regional Meeting held in Charleston, West Virginia, USA, 15 - 17 October 2019.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents
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Abstract
The artificial lift system (AL) is the most efficient production technique in optimizing production from
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 artificial lift in tight formations, there remains differing assessments of the best
approach, AL type, optimum time and conditions to install artificial lift during the life of a well. This report
presents a comprehensive review of artificial lift systems application with specific focus on tight oil and
gas formations across the world. The review focuses on thirty-three (33) successful and unsuccessful field-
tests in 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 the use of artificial lift designs and applications in the development
of unconventional horizontal oil and gas wells by the industry. Production rates has been observed to drop
by over 40% to 80% within the first year in wells completed in unconventional reservoirs after completion
and fracturing operations (Pankaj et al., 2018). In unconventional wells, the major characteristic feature
is the swift production decline and changes at different life stages of the well. Artificial lift application in
the unconventional horizontal wells (Fig 1) 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. The limitation
in achieving optimal productivity in deep horizontal wells is the lack of proper and efficient design of its
artificial lift system.
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Figure. 1—Typical setup for a horizontal well pumping: (a) From Vertical position;
(b) From Lateral Position [Modified 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 production from horizontal wellbores has been
improved, the cost of operation has also been raised; it may cost three (3) times more in expenses to drill
and complete a horizontal wellbore than a vertical wellbore. Fig. 2 shows how the artificial lift applied, and
techniques adopted can influence the production rate in the lifetime of a well. Based on the initial production
rate, the artificial lift approach in the life of a well can consist of one, two, or up to three different artificial
lift methods as the production drops over time.

Figure 2—Influence of Artificial Lift techniques on production rates [Modified after Pankaj et al., 2018]
SPE-196592-MS 3

Background
Currently, it is estimated that around 40% of the unconventional wells with artificial lift systems installed
use gas lift, 36% use Electrical Submersible Pump, 13% use rod lift, 7% use plunger lift and 4% jet pumps.
Table 1 provides a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of installing artificial lift systems in
unconventional reservoirs, and brief overview of the common artificial lift systems are presented in this
section.

Table 1—Merits and Demerits of Major Artificial Lift Systems [Clarke and Malone, 2016]

Sucker Rod Pump (SRP)

Sucker rod pumping or rod pumps are the oldest and most popularly used artificial lift method in the world.
Approximately 85% of unconventional wells in U.S are artificially lifted using rod pumps because of its
simplicity (Pankaj et al., 2018). The 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). SRP are well known for being able achieve very
high drawdowns to produce wells with low bottomhole flowing pressures and can work with very low
pump intake pressures. This makes rod pumps desirable for last stage of production or if the IP 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
4 SPE-196592-MS

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 (ESP)

Electric Submersible Pumps (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). To achieve a
successful application of ESPs in deep unconventional horizontal wells, the wellbore setting depth is of
utmost importance in order 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, transformer and surface electric cables). Due to the fluctuation of reservoir productivity in
unconventional horizontal reservoirs, surface installation of variable-speed drives (VSD) is recommended.

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

Jet Pump
There is a rise in the application of jet pumps in 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 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 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 bpd or less. As
such, it is most desirable for 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 Artificial Lift Systems

Case Study 1 – Sucker Rod Pump
In Canada, the Alberta Department of Energy-Oil Sand and Research Division (ADOE-OSRD), the Alberta
Research Council (ARC), and few major oilfield operators teamed up to address the major challenges
mitigating SRP application in 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 non-condensable 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 fourteen (14) wells. The before and after results (Fig. 3) of replacing conventional valve
within the test field shows a rise in production rate in the range of 10-90%, and minimal pump interruptions
were recorded. A preventive maintenance scheme for the sucker rod beam pump (SRBP) can extend the
life of the equipment when incorporated into the day-to-day field operations (Bullard, 1976).
SPE-196592-MS 5

Figure. 3—Production results of before and after replacement of

conventional valve with HIVAC valve [Modified after Toma et al., 1998]

A novel model for characterizing force analysis and rod deformation in designing sucker rod strings
for in unconventional directional 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 production of 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 rod centralizer was
tested on the Orinoco Belt field (OBF) in Venezuela. The result (Table 2) showed the tubing and/or sucker
rod failures was reduced to zero per year from a previous average of 3 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 about 50 horizontal wells, and a rod guide optimization program was incorporated into this test. 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
sucker rod pump failure rate by 49% in the horizontal wells investigated.
6 SPE-196592-MS

Table 2—Production test result from Orinoco Belt field section [Rivas et al., 1990]

In horizontal wellbores, operational complications due to shortage in pump fillage or complete pump
starvation in the sucker-rod pumping units was scaled down by the design of a special sucker-rod pumping
unit (Kitapov and Gilfanov, 2018). The new design was field-tested in two (2) 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 sucker-rod pumping unit. As at date, the installment and application of the selfpositioning
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 1038 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 tailpipe systems in rod pumps installed in horizontal wells has been
widely accepted over the past few years. After several tests conducted in Ellithorp and Snyder (2018), the
authors observed that a well-designed and safe-to-run isolated-tailpipe system will lower cost and maximize
profit in 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 about 2.5 per well/
year while pumping from horizontal well. Packer-type gas anchor installation and increased casing size
were implemented on three (3) group of wells (I-III) in the Pearsall Field. The result as seen in Table 3,
showed a significant increase in production rate when laterally-pumping from the unconventional horizontal
wells. 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, variable speed drives (VSDs), and
backpressure valves (Allison et al., 2018). Field investigations by Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) in the
Permian Basin recommends that downhole pump fillage should be used to regulate the well and ensure
SPE-196592-MS 7

the least possible backpressure is applied on sucker rod-pumped wells. The advantage of Variable Speed
Drives (VSDs) over wells using the Pump-Off Control (POC) cannot be over-emphasized. In Lee and Gault
(2019), 81 horizontal wells producing from the San Andres formation in the Permian Basin was installed
with VSDs. The authors observed that the pump failure decreased over a period when compared with the
wells installed with POC, and at the same time having minimal-to-none effect on the operating cost and
production cost.

Table 3—Production test result from horizontal wells pumping in the lateral section [Cortines and Hollabaugh, 1992]

During the development of its Eagle Ford asset in South Texas, Murphy Oil installed the SRP system in
their three (3) main fields to produce from more than 150 horizontal wells (Clarke and Malone, 2016). After
two (2) years of operating the 150 SRP systems, the failure rate recorded was 1.10 failures/well/year. The
failure record showed 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 four (4) years has reduced
the system failure 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 rod lift system shows optimization of horizontal wells in tight formations are feasible (Monk
and Rutledge, 2018).
Due to low permeability and tight reservoir formation in the Bakken field, North Dakota, SRP 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 was conducted based
on well time dependence, low GOR, and low water cuts. A production increase in the range of 17-26% was
achieved from three (3) tested wells. In SRP application to Hess Bakken wells, tubing leaks has historically
been a perennial problem 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. In the results, the authors observed a reduction in tubing wear;
historical mean time before tubing failure was tremendously exceeded by wells with the newly installed
ToughMet couplings; and no failure was observed.

Case Study 2 – Electrical Submersible Pump

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 multi-sensor wrapped around it. 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 flowback and well-intervention planning will be enhanced.
8 SPE-196592-MS

As a result of field depletion and low GOR in horizontal wells of the Al Khalij Field, Qatar, ESP
was installed to raise the production rates. Some operators attempted to characterize the production along
the long horizontal drain (Constant et al., 2007). Failure of the Production Logging Tool (PLT) to pass
through the Y-tool led to two (2) unsuccessful field trials. Three (3) categories of tractors (wheeled-
type, two-electric-hydraulic and one-electric) was introduced, which yielded significant improvement in
the production operations and long-term optimization of the field was facilitated. Despite the successful
installation of three (3) 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 to a trip-
free ESP completion from a lowly 8 hours. This was achieved by raising the ESP frequency to improve
the gas handling/separation performance and choking the well back simultaneously to prevent a fall in the
pump intake pressure. Installing ESP systems in 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). When Surface Formation Isolation Valve (SFIV) is combined
with a Hydraulic Wet Mate Connect (HWMC), the possibility of changing multiple ESPs without inducing
additional rig-time and saving well cost and without pulling the lower intelligent completion is achieved.
SPE-196592-MS 9

Figure. 4—Gaslocking solutions approach for a horizontal well in Rijn Oilfield [Modified after Bruijnen and de Boer, 2016]

Despite huge pumping capacity of ESP in 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 limitations: 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 System™) (Kimery et al., 2017). 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). A state-of-the-art innovative packer-type gas separator was presented in Gonzalez et al.
(2019). A more simplified method to increase double gas separation named Casing Gas Separator (CGS) is
also efficient production optimization in horizontal wells (Snyder et al., 2018; Snyder and Ellithorp, 2019).
During the first field test with another operator, ESP system was installed in 2 Wolfcamp wells: one with an
ESP, and another well switching from gas lift to ESP. The result showed a great increase fluid production
compared to previous production trends as the 1st well had 185% total fluid production increase, and the 2nd
well had 115% increase. Notwithstanding the higher drawdown achieved by the first field test, there was an
un-anticipated shorter run life of the two (2) ESPs. In the second field test with HEAL System™ which was
10 SPE-196592-MS

implemented in the Peace River Arch region, Canada, the following success was achieved: critical velocity
was achieved, pump intake pressure (PIP) was greatly reduced than in the first test, ESP run life exceeded
the previous test's failure time, and much higher gas production rates was achieved.
In order to eliminate premature ESP failures in horizontal wells due to gas-locking, EOG Resources
developed a novel gas separator named "Ninja" Liquid Concentrating Intake (LCI) (Kennedy et al., 2017),
and it was installed on the company's low flowrate horizontal wells in Bakken formation, North Dakota.
Although the wells has experienced eight (8) ESP failures in two (2) years and the average run time of
each pump was merely 68 days, installation of Ninja along with a new Summit SF320 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 production rates (Fig.5). Some
of the challenges to the ESP operations in Pearsall Field are but not limited to: reducing the mechanic risk
in horizontal open-hole wells during installation/workover, minimizing the effects of gas/liquid slugging,
obtaining additional drawdown pressure, and operating ESP over a wider range of production rates. In
overcoming these challenges Oryx Energy Co. (later acquired by Anadarko) later developed and tested a new
shrouded dip tube design in Pearson field, Texas, on ESPs in ten (10) horizontal wells (Freet and McCaslin,
1992), and yielded the following: increased drawdown pressure (250 psig), natural fluid separation in the
horizontal wellbore section, reduction/elimination in free gas entering the dip tube, the possibility of ESP
application over a wider range of rates was achieved.
SPE-196592-MS 11

Figure 5—Field test result showing before and after Ninja installation on ESP [Modified after Kennedy et al., 2017]

Application of 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 ten (10) horizontal wells in this Mississippian Lime, Oklahoma, having ESPs installed
flangeless connections and obtained the following results: optimum drawdown was achieved, ESP systems
successfully deployed through DLS > 217100ft without negative impact on system performance and
production. In Britvar and Williams (2017), Oasis Petroleum attempted to enhance the application of ESP
in 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. Decrease in total operation cost, and a rise
12 SPE-196592-MS

in 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 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 BOPD with 586 Mscf/day 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 at highly deviated section.
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 horizontal wells is the shift form its vertical to horizontal well plunger
lifting. This was addressed using the Echometer Total Well Management (TWM) on plunger lift systems
in seven (7) horizontal Marcellus shale wells to investigate the cycles of the plunger lifting as if relates
to plunger fall velocities and fall depths (Kravits et al., 2011). Result from 53 TWM tests concluded a
possibility of plunger to fall faster below the kickoff point (plungers travelling up to 90°) and finally reach
a terminal deviation angle of 74°.
As report by Nascimento et al. (2015), in the three (3) Horn-River shale horizontal gas wells, Canada, the
minimum flowrate 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 start-up of horizontal multi-staged gas wells. The use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
model was utilized to address plunger uneven wear and gas blow-by which dominant additional problems
limiting plunger lifts in horizontal wells (Longfellow and Green, 2014), but its application can be limited
due to unsteady multiphase flow in tubing that are horizontal or inclined.

Case Study 5 – Progressing Cavity Pump

Installation of Progressing Cavity Pumps (PCP) supported the development and production of horizontal
wells in Llancanelo Field, Argentina, where the PCP landed at 1197m and 90° from the vertical reference
(Monasterio and Gusberti, 2015). The field-test result over an eight-year (8) period showed a significant
increase in production from 7600 m3 (47340 bbl) to 21727 m3 (136662 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 PCP system, and challenges in aquifer identification
making water shut-off methods impotent, has limited the operations of over 400 PCP wells (Al Shukri and
Abou-ElKhair, 2009). While solving these problems, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) developed and
installed (in 10 wells) a new PCP design with a special dual-anchor which can accommodate two (2) strings
(production and intervention) at the same time. The result from the production test after water shutoff (WSO)
showed: drop in water-cut from 100% to 65%, a significant increase in oil production rate from 1 m3/day
to 32 m3/day, and a drastic reduction in cost of workover operations.

Case Study 6 – Other Artificial Lift Methods

An innovative Artificial Lift system was developed and applied in over 30 unconventional horizontal
wells in the Daqing Oilfield, China, named Electrical Submersible Reciprocating Pumping system (ESRP)
SPE-196592-MS 13

(Wensheng et al., 2012). The ESRP is identical to ESP system, except for its reciprocating motor and pump.
In field test results, the authors showed that: the total production rate raised from 35 BPD to 66 BPD, daily
power consumption reduced from 108.79 kWh 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 (ASP) (Elmahbes and Quintero, 2017) was developed and applied to
unconventional horizontal wells in North America to eliminate declining production due to repeated ESP
shutdowns. The ASP system was installed to replace three (3) previously installed ESPs with an average
run life of 157 days. Field data from the after-installation of ASP showed (from Table 4) that production
rate yielded 90 BOPD addition, reduction in amount of free gas entering the pump and PIP and extended
the average run life of the pumping system.

Table 4—Field Result of Conventional ESP vs. Artificial Sump Pumping system [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 ESP and PCP systems, designed to eliminate friction between the well head stuffing box
and rod. The challenges faced by operators in application of ESPCP in two (2) Kulin horizontal wells are
lack of fluid production at the same the pump was running (solved through back-flushing the pump by
reversing 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 (56-66%), rise
in oil production from approximately 300 BOPD/well to 531 BOPD (well 1) and 394 BOPD (well 2). The
application of a newly developed and installed gas anchor into the lateral wellbore section of the investigated
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 optimized gas-liquid separation process when the tool was
placed in a stratified flow regime.
14 SPE-196592-MS

Figure 6—Field test result showing production from two Kulin horizontal
wells after ESPCP installation [Modified after Taufan et al., 2005]

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 horizontal wells in a heavy oil green field operated by Kuwait Oil Company (KOC). The results
from seven (7) field tests (Table 5) showed: a 20% increased liquid production rate and an extended pump
run life, and over 80% of free gas has been removed at the pump intake.

Table 5—Field Result of PMM-HR-PCP Application in a heavy oil green field, Kuwait [Kommaraju et al., 2016]
SPE-196592-MS 15

Some of the long-term operational problems affecting horizontal wells and sand production was
addressed with an innovative Electrical Submersible-Progressive Cavity Pump (ES-PCP) system (Rushby
and Denholm, 2013). The ES-PCP was installed and tested in the San Joaquin Valley fields, California,
which resulted in reduced sand-related failures, less workover operations and in turn reduce total cost, and
the system achieved a stable production rate at 50 BOFPD. Chamber gas lift (Hardegree et al., 2018), is
another unique AL system consisting of deep gas lift and intermittent gas lift, which was installed in two
(2) horizontal wells in Wolfcamp, Texas, to solve the lack of drawdown from kick-off point (KOP) to total
vertical depth (TVD). The field test was initially affected by slickline run limitation and restriction to flow
due to hard paraffin buildup but was cleared-up by xylene treatment. The result showed a significant increase
in production of oil gas and water while the orifice valve operated as a deep gas lift and the pilot valve
operated as chamber gas lift with a plunger cycling.
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 gas lift 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 (2) unconventional
horizontal wells (Austin Chalk in Fayette county and Buda-Georgetown in Grimes County). The result (Fig.
7) 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, although the well was dead before installation, but the production rates for oil, gas and water was
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 production of fluids from 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.
16 SPE-196592-MS

Figure 7—Field result showing optimized production from two horizontal wells
after Velocity String design installation [Modified after Mazzanti and Dixon, 2016]

Hydraulic fracturing is a widely accepted completion technique in unconventional formations across the
world (Kolawole and Ispas, 2019). The use of a wide range of AL systems applicable to unconventional
horizontally-fractured wells was investigated in three (3) Texan fields (Bill Jackson, 2018), and their results
were highlighted in Table 6. Elmer et al. (2017) suggested the High Pressure GasLift (HPGL) as a potential
SPE-196592-MS 17

Artificial Lift method to optimize fluid production in horizontal wells, which can effectively ensure well
production up to 50 BLPD at 290 psia from 3000 BLPD at over 2000 psia.

Table 6—Field Result of Jet Pump vs. ESP vs. Gas Lift [Jackson, 2018]

In the Permian Basin, Pronk et al. (2019) suggested and confirmed that Annular Single Point High
Pressure Gas Lift (SPHPGL) is a viable option for lifting high-liquid volumes than failure-prone ESPs
applied to horizontal wells. The Gas-Assisted Plunger Lift (GAPL) was also installed in 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).

Conclusions and Recommendations

This paper provides a comprehensive review of Artificial Lift (AL) system applications in unconventional
horizontal wells. A total of thirty-three (33) case studies 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 majority of the field projects have produced successful
results, there are still some test projects requiring further investigations.
1. Statistical analysis from the entire field test data show that:
2. Rod pump run life can extend to over 1038 days.
3. ESP failure was reduced to as much as 50%.
4. 80% of free gas in the PMM-HR-PCP and ESPs can be removed at the pump intake.
5. Pump efficiencies in most of the cases discussed was improved up to 65%.
To provide cutting-edge industry solutions to AL applications in horizontal wells, significant
recommendations from those case studies are highlighted below:
1. Improvement of long-lasting carbon fiber, light and corrosive-resistant sucker rods.
2. Downhole gas burning with the aid of differential temperatures to lift the liquids to the surface (Jacobs,
2015).
18 SPE-196592-MS

3. Incorporating a condition-based monitoring technology for interventions/maintenance to be carried

out before lift system failure.
4. Permanent fiber-optic field installations and distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) recycling to detect
early signs of system failure (Jacobs, 2015).
5. Efficient tubing inspection program to reduce artificial lift failure rate in horizontal wells (Reeves
and Restrepo, 2019).
6. Research on cutting-edge techniques for gas separation for AL equipment, and the placement of AL
in the horizontal wellbore section should be continued.

Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Bob L. Herd department of Petroleum Engineering, Texas Tech University, for
their support to this study. Special thanks also to the Southwestern Petroleum Short Course Association
(SWPSC) for the resources provided for this study.

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