IPTC-19474-MS

A Strategic and Flexible Approach to Through Tubing Electrical Submersible

Pump Cable Deployed TTESP-CD Replication for Technology Robustness

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Nurul Asyikin M. Radzuan, Nurfarah Izwana Salleh, Ashvin Avalani Chandrakant, Liyana Rusman, Kautsar
Zamanuri, Azfar Israa Abu Bakar, Pui Mun Yip, M. Helmi Jamaluddin, and Elsayed Ouda Ghonim, PETRONAS;
Vijay Nambiar, Novomet; Euan Alexander, Artificial Lift Solutions

Copyright 2019, International Petroleum Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the International Petroleum Technology Conference held in Beijing, China, 26 – 28 March 2019.

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Abstract
Following the first pilot success of the truly rigless 3-1/2" tubing cable deployed ESP (TTESP-CD
in offshore field of Sarawak Basin, PETRONAS has taken steps to further advance in the technology
development and application through more replications within Sarawak and Malay Basin. PETRONAS had
been looking into a strong business case for the TTESP-CD technology for a wider application throughout
Malaysia region by looking at fields with strong/moderate water drive and low bubble point pressure besides
having other limitations on the platform including the facilities reliability issues.
TTESP-CD are to be applied widely in Malaysia with more flexibilities in design and improvement
towards the subsurface equipment, installation equipment and procedures. With the challenges in the
existing completion and production requirement for replications, based on the lesson learnt from the pilot
implementation, multiple improvements to the system have been done including; 1) A High Rate Slim
Pump with Flexible Application 2) Alignment Tool for Cable Hanger Orientation. With this in place, more
opportunities identified for the candidate selection which improve the installation philosophy specifically
in dual string applications and enhance the efficiency in installation procedures.
Case studies of TTESP-CD replications in Malay & Sarawak Basin for Field T, Field B and Field P
presenting the best case for TTESP-CD application with improvement to design, equipment and application.
These will bring additional value to PETRONAS with estimated production gain of ∼1.5 KBD and up to
1.2 MMSTB reserves to be monetized with additional value saving of up to RM 6 Mill.
Besides the subsurface challenges, aging offshore assets brings a lot of challenges, especially on the space
availability, structural integrity, power availability and distribution, instrumentation and data transmission.
This requires an integrated approach from multiple disciplines in delivering the studies as per required
within the targeted timeframe.
2 IPTC-19474-MS

Introduction/Background
The success of the world's first 3-1/2" truly rigless TTESP-CD application in Sarawak Basin triggered the
requirement to replicate the technology for wider application in Sarawak and Malay Basin. PETRONAS
team had identified more opportunities for technology replications which can further enhance the value of
assets through production acceleration and providing additional reserves to be monetized.
The existing TTESP-CD deployment method is reviewed for further improvement to simplify the

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execution procedure especially when dealing with higher rate application. Learning from the lesson of
TTESP-CD pilot implementation, PETRONAS team has been looking into further optimization of the
TTESP-CD design and application to improve the economic value of the project. A multidisciplinary
project team has been involved in both studies and execution of TTESP-CD in brownfields to conduct
an integrated evaluation for TTESP-CD application including reservoir evaluation, candidate selection,
TTESP-CD design and facilities improvement requirements.
This paper describes the technology advancements and improvements involved based on the previous
pilot project findings for TTESP-CD replications. It includes detailed studies and execution for few
brownfields in Malaysia

Technology Advancement for Future Replications

Challenges & Mitigations
The first successful pilot application in Sarawak Basin was a success to PETRONAS not only on the
deployment method but also manage to be on operations for more than 16 months without any retrieval.
However, there were few limitations that put a boundary for wide future replications in Malaysia Fields.
With the demand for more replications, PETRONAS and TTESP-CD providers put a lot of effort to improve
TTESP-CD installation procedure and TTESP-CD equipment.
One of the biggest challenges for the rig-less TTESP-CD application expansion is the limited production
capacity of the available slim pump. This situation affects the economics of the projects. In view of more
wells with higher rate requirements, bigger size of pump with capability to deliver higher production rate
was developed and tested in 2017. This creates opportunities for more application in Malaysian Fields
to enhance the production of the wells. Besides, few findings and lessons learnt captured with identified
mitigations plans including the improvement to cable hanger orientation procedure. An urgent attention was
given to ensure future replications would be smoothly executed without any safety concern and reduce the
risk of failure during the installation.

A High Rate Slim Pump with Flexible Application

Previous TTESP-CD application for 3-1/2" tubing piloted with 2.17" slim pump only had a limited capacity
of approximately 500 BLPD down-hole rate at the best efficiency with pump speed of 8500 RPM. Figure
1 is showing the N217 low rate TTESP-CD curves.
IPTC-19474-MS 3

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Figure 1—N217 low rate TTESP-CD curves

In 2017, PETRONAS urged technical provider to upgrade the capacity of 2.17" pump for 2-7/8"/3-1/2"
tubing by re-engineering the stages and pump design and successfully resulted in development for N217
which was commercially released in 2017 with higher rate capacity of up to 940 BLPD at best efficiency.
The higher rate N217 will be installed by 2019 in one PETRONAS wells with estimated net oil production
gain of 0.615 KBD. Figure 2 is showing N217 high rate TTESP-CD curves.

Figure 2—N217 high rate TTESP-CD curves

In some other wells that are completed with 3-1/2" tubing size and are currently producing more than 1000
BLPD with existing gas lift, N217 high rate pump does not provide additional oil production as compared
to current gas lift application. This drove the development of bigger series TTESP-CD for 3-1/2" tubing
application. Subsequently, the ESP NA272 series which was originally developed with 3.19" motor at 6000
4 IPTC-19474-MS

RPM has been modified and upgraded to be driven by 2.17" permanent magnet motor (PMM) system with
2.17"x 2.72" cross over and enhanced bearings for cable deployment and high-speed application up to 8500
RPM. This NA272 TTESP-CD pump for 3-1/2" tubing is ready for installation as the first offshore cable
deployment in three (3) offshore wells in early 2019 with total estimated oil production gain of 0.8 KBD.
Figure 3 is showing the NA272 TTESP-CD curves.

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Figure 3—NA272 TTESP-CD curves

As futuristic insight, PETRONAS is planning to install even bigger series pump NB319 inside some
existing 4-1/2" tubing sizes in which currently commercially available pump capacity range from 3800
BLPD at 6000 RPM, as per shown in Figure 4 and newly tested NB319 pump with higher rate, 6000
BLPD/950 m3 at 11500 RPM as per Figure 5.

Figure 4—NB319 Low Rate TTESP-CD curves

IPTC-19474-MS 5

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Figure 5—NB319 High Rate TTESP-CD Curves as per Lab Test

As the pump are commercially available (except NB319 High Rate), PETRONAS could significantly
explore the utilization of bigger capacity pump for the cable deployment thru tubing ESP applications as
shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6—TTESP-CD Capacity Upgrades

Besides the benefit of running at high rate to deliver higher capacity, these pumps are suitable for harsh
environment with 13 chrome metallurgy and the Ultra Corrosion Resistant metallurgy as per NACE MRO
standard.

An Improved Alignment System for Cable Hanger Orientation

As per pilot TTESP-CD implementation, cable termination system the critical parts of the design in TTESP-
CD application which allows electrical connection to surface and handles the weight of the TTESP-CD
system. The final design consists of integrated cable with hanger, cable grapple, splice chamber, seal sub,
and three legged electrical penetrator system. The cable hanger was designed with GS fishing neck and
locking system while the cable termination spool comes with locating alignment system.
During the previous installation, the execution team experienced challenges to set and orient the hanger
inside the cable termination spool to confirm on the landing point using the original design of alignment
adaptor and GS prong. It ended up with manual orientation by turning the alignment sub. This critical finding
was brought to serious attention by PETRONAS and the spool provider to further improve the system to
allow auto alignment during the setting of the cable hanger. A modified GS prong with auto-alignment
adaptor was introduced for future TTESP-CD installation.
An onshore test was conducted in Oct 2018 to test the functionality across the cable termination spool.
The cable hanger was RIH together with the assembly of GS prong and auto-alignment system where it
6 IPTC-19474-MS

had to be functioned with some degree of misalignment to properly align the connector ports. A stem was
used as a guide along the alignment adaptor when RIH. It was successful during onshore testing where the
new system allowed the hanger to be oriented automatically with 180° misalignment with the requirement
of additional weight during the testing by addition of spang jars. Figure 7 and 8 shows the onshore testing
configuration and outcome as per conducted in Labuan, Malaysia.

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Figure 7—Cable Hanger and Alignment Tools Assembly with Sparring Jars for RIH

Figure 8—Control Line Port in Cable Hanger is Fully Aligned with the Spool Port with Auto-Alignment System

For the installation, it is expected that the systems will work smoothly with TTESP-CD weight available
to pull the system and align the cable hanger. However, as an additional precaution to reduce risk of tool
stuck, PETRONAS team decided to add on the spang jars as part of the running tools.

The Need of TTESP-CD Application in Malaysia Fields

TTESP-CD was identified as one of alternative artificial lift methods in Malaysia, mainly driven by
deteriorating performances of gas lift in high water cut and limited lift gas environments that is currently
facing many brownfields, positive statistical performance of ESP efficiency in offshore environment,
and driven by the low cost implementation as experienced in pilot application back in 2017. In view of
this, PETRONAS has evaluated most brownfields and exploring opportunities in green and small fields
for TTESP-CD application. The main aspects considered in defining the business cases for TTESP-CD
IPTC-19474-MS 7

application include reservoir management, current system artificial lift efficiency, facilities and technical
limitation of the fields.
Reservoir management has now matured to the point where great emphasis is placed on working as a
cross functional team involving all technical areas and has been proven to be successful. In this paper,
the reservoir management context relies on use of technology while minimizing capital investments and
operating expenses (economic optimization) to maximize economic recovery of oil & gas from a reservoir.
The economic optimization of oil and gas recovery can be obtained through several options or steps and one

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of that is modification or retrofitting (if required) of wellbore and surface systems. Due to current limitation
of TTESP-CD operating envelope, only certain reservoir criteria will be considered as potential candidates.
Unlike normal ESP installation which has been used in the beginning of the field life, the TTESP-CD has
been brought into matured fields under gas lifting operation with a conventional completion. A new idea
was brought and been discussed over time with an intention to reduce dependency on limited gas lift supply
for continuous production caused by additional wells on gas lift and increase of water cut which normally
required more gas to be utilized. It was observed for some fields especially with dual string wells, efficiency
of gas lift is badly affected once the water cut increases above 60%.
Having the right and suitable candidates for TTESP-CD is crucial to ensure that the performance can be
reflected successfully. For immediate execution, the candidate selection was narrowed down to application
on the main platforms as minimum modification is required for the execution and where most of the topside
requirement have been met i.e.; deck space, power requirement, safe zone, etc. In the cases of bigger
opportunities identified which requires a campaign execution for TTESP-CD application, it is easier for the
team to explore more options for surface modification and improvement while meeting the economics value.

Case Studies
Field T
Field Background. Field T is a mature brownfield located 30km offshore Sarawak with over 40 years of
production. More than 90% of wells in Field T are gas-lifted. High pressure gas lift gas is predominantly
sourced from five (5) reciprocating compressors at main processing station and channeled to wells in nine
(9) separate platforms/jackets. Over the producing years, increase in water cut had increase the demand for
gas lift gas. Added with high field water production, some of the wells have to be closed in to prioritize
the lift gas for better producers. Additionally, aging facilities contribute to decreasing efficiency and higher
compressors downtime, leading to unreliable gas lift supply that results in higher unplanned deferment. As
a result, Field T is operating below maximum potential with about 6% of total field production constrained
by insufficient gas lift gas. This is mainly due to the low compressors discharge pressure that restricts the
wells from producing at maximum potential. To cater for the limitations of current artificial lift method and
to provide ullage for future field development projects, TT-ESP were considered as a cost-effective and
rigless alternative to improve lifting performance from existing wells and to ensure that the field can be
efficiently produced to achieve the expected recovery.
Candidates Selection. One of the main challenges to deploy this technology in Field T is facilities
constraint, mainly in terms of power requirements and space availability. Field T was developed in
1975 solely with gas lift in mind, hence the operational philosophy has to be revamped to cater for
ESP development. A fit-for-purpose solution is required to be cost effective without adding significant
infrastructure cost. Power is only available at main platforms Alpha and Bravo, supplied by gas turbine
generator. Due to the high cost of undersea cables, candidates were limited to only these two platforms (out
of 9) for the first ESP application.
Generally, most reservoirs in Field T exhibits strong water drive mechanism and are shallow i.e. less
than 5,000 ft. As reservoir sand is mostly weak and unconsolidated, internal gravel packs are used as means
8 IPTC-19474-MS

of sand control and have been proven to be effective in controlling sand production over the years. The
solution gas ratio maintains close to initial as reservoir pressure depletion is minimal. Although crude in
Field T is waxy, the tendency of wax formation in the selected wells is low.
During candidate screening in Field-T, wells that suffer from any tubing integrity issue, severe sand
production, and any fish in the hole will be categorized as low ranking wells. Tubing integrity is crucial to
ensure efficient pump performance and any severe sand production can damage the system due to current
system limitation. After thorough screening, out of 14 wells in 1 platform, 2 wells (3 strings - A11L,

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A17L and A17S) were selected as the reservoir Absolute Open Flow (AOF) potential is more than 2 KBD
supported with inefficient lifting issues and at same time met the criteria for TTESP-CD application. Both
wells are 3-1/2" dual string oil producers which currently have gas robbing issues. It has been considered
as perfect candidates for TTESP-CD, opening up opportunity to revive the wells as well as allowing gas
reallocation to the other closed-in strings.
TTESP-CD Design. For A17 well, in order to maximize the production especially from the higher PI strings
A17S, the strategy is to install both strings with NA272 series pumps by commingling the reservoirs from
both strings as it is permitted by reservoir management plan (RMP). This provides total gross production
up to 2.7 KBD from both strings with estimated gain of 0.3 KBD. By having this, two (2) pumps will be
operated to drain the reservoirs. PETRONAS is looking forward to the success of the application as it is
considered the first dual string application for TTESP-CD.
For A11L, with the AOF of 3 KBD well was designed with NA272 series pump at 1.7 KBD which is
double the current production rate. For the motor, tandem motors are to be installed as >43 HP is required
for TTESP at all three strings. This gives positive value of approximately 0.5 KBD additional oil besides
manage to revive the idle well. Table 1 summarize the design of the TTESP-CD in all 3 strings in Field T.

Table 1—TTESP-CD Base Case Design for A17 and A11

Reservoir Evaluation. For Field T, almost all of the reservoirs are producing with strong aquifer support.
For the selected wells, the producing reservoirs are E, F, G and H reservoirs. Based on the 30 years'
performance, sustained reservoir pressure is observed and wells are continuously producing with low GOR.
Water cut has been increasing since early 1990s and consistent trends is observed for over 20 years. Due
to inexistence of dynamic model and given the consistent water cut trend, decline curve analysis (DCA)
method was used to evaluate reserves at the well level.
As DCA method is highly dependent on historical performance and given that ESP is a pilot project in
Field T, an analog ESP well is referred to Field B to analyze its water cut trend. Based on this, a flatter
water cut trend at above 80% water cut is observed after installation of ESP. Thus, an incremental reserve
IPTC-19474-MS 9

is resulted by applying a gentler water cut trend at well level and by extending the cut off to 98% for ESP
instead of 95% for gas lift. Table 2 is the summary of reserves assessment for wells in Field T:

Table 2—Field T Reserves Evaluation Summary

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Facilities Improvement. As field T is new to ESP application, a closer look to the facilities improvement
needed to be considered by the multidisciplinary project team. Besides the main requirement for TTESP-
CD to install the power cables and modify the flow lines to fit the change of X-mas tree height, the most
critical part on the Field T engineering for the surface modification is related to platform instrumentation
which involved new addition of ESP control panel for the platform shut down tie in.
In order to ensure low surface equipment cost and weight, a safe-zone location has to be chosen for the
variable speed drives and step-up transformers. Proper equipment for process safety measure are also critical
to ensure a safe operation for the electrical equipment. As this field is currently being monitored manually
based on the well test data, with no available PI system to signal the information to the control room and
office workstation, a new infrastructure for the data transmission is also captured as the engineering scope
for continuous data monitoring from TTESP-CD wells.
The multidisciplinary team has been working to look into all aspects for TTESP-CD implementation
taking into consideration of the strategy of minimizing the expenditure for the whole project execution. For
the execution in Field T, use of work barge was planned due to the limiting factor of unmanned platform
philosophy.

Field B
Field Background. Field B is a high-producing, mature field with more than 30 years of production. 85%
of the wells are still active and majority of them are relying on gas lift due to the mid-low reservoir pressure
and high water-cut behaviour. Shortage of gas lift supply is a big challenge due to the low capacity of the
gas compression facility. Due to this limitation, additional lift gas supply from HHP wells of its neighboring
field is supplemented to Field B. This leads to an open loop system for the lift gas compression hence
creating an inefficient handling of resources. As a result, Field B faces high venting on a daily basis.
Throughout the years, conventional tubing-jointed ESPs have been installed in several of the wells in
Field B as part of the long-term strategy to reduce dependency on gas lift. The recent setback in oil prices
10 IPTC-19474-MS

halted further ESP conversion activities due to the unattractive economics of having a Workover unit for
the installations. The advent of low-cost TTESP-CD, coupled with the readily available surface equipment
and vast experience of handling ESPs paves the way in addressing this issue. The first offshore pilot for
TTESCP-CD was in Field B. Future replications are promising to meet the objective of a reduced gas lift
dependency hence achieving more sustainable operations.
Candidates Selection. Starting early 2019 until 2020, there will be massive jobs planned in Field B for

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platform rejuvenation, new central processing platform (CPP) installation as well as infill drilling campaign.
Due to that, the candidate selection to replicate TTESP-CD application has been narrowed down to only
A platform wells looking at the available window for execution and facilities readiness. As the available
window is limited in 2019, team was advised to only consider A platform wells as the available candidate for
the near term execution. This is due to minimum facilities improvement required to accommodate TTESP-
CD application.
Based on general TTESP-CD candidate selection workflow, only 9 strings out of 30 strings in platform
were selected as potential candidates. Detail evaluation and TTESP-CD well models were generated for all 9
strings to understand their potential. Table 3 below is the summary for the 9 strings in platform Alpha based
on initial screening. Two pump sizes, N217 and NA272 were considered in the screening based on well
AOF's and maximum target fluid production. Few scenarios were being considered including commingle
option, higher water cut assumption after TTESP-CD installation, single pump in dual strings well and low
PI wells.

Table 3—Short listed strings for TTESP-CD replication, Field B

The final candidates were selected based on potential value creation, well performance, reservoir
evaluation, economic and surface readiness. Having to consider minor surface modification as one of the
limitation in candidate selection criteria, only additional two sets of TTESP-CD are allowed with the current
surface setup at platform A. Based on the 9 evaluated strings, A110S and A110L were selected for the
replication.
A110L was initially proposed for workover in 2012 to convert into an ESP well. However, the proposal
was suspended due to high cost for workover and unattractive economics. Based on production history,
A110L was facing lifting issue since 2005 suspected due to increase in water cut and eventually well quit
in 2007. The same situation happened for well A110S in 2007 when the water cut started to increase from
40% to 60%. Eventhough wells can be produced at higher water cut, gas lift is having limitation to sustain
the optimum production of the well due to gas robbing which caused the production to drop.
TTESP-CD Design. A commingled production through only one NA272 pumps in one of the string was
originally considered, however, due to high PI for both strings, two (2) NA272 series pump are required
IPTC-19474-MS 11

to maximize the production from both strings. Both strings were designed for NA272 pumps with setting
depths above the production packer.
Pump stages depends on the head requirement and both pump will be set at the same depth, 2050 ft.
As part of the analysis, the design was sensitized under two factors, water cut and operating frequency.
Based on previous ESP installation in Field B, the water cut tended to increase post ESP installation due
to higher drawdown being applied to the reservoir. From the case history, higher water cut was forecasted
and considered as part of the overall evaluation.

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The target liquid rate for A110L with TTESP-CD was 1.9 KBD at 85% water cut while for A110S was
1.1 KBD at 70% water cut. Table 4 below is the summary of TTESP-CD design for both strings respectively.
For the motor, tandem motor is to be installed as >43 HP is required for TTESP at both wells

Table 4—TTESP-CD Base Case Design for A110L & A110S

Reservoir Evaluation. Field B is an example of strong aquifer multistack reservoirs called AB, EF and GH
that were selected for ESP application supported with screening analysis based on production performance
and fluid characteristics i.e. low gas (GOR) & low Pb (Bubble point Pressure). Main challenge comes
mainly from in-synchronization of contact (OWC) movement. Presence of by passed oil proved by wells
performance and recent drilling campaign. All the factors were incorporated in the reserve evaluation for
candidate finalization
A numbers of wells which are producing from AB, EF and GH reservoirs were analyzed with standard
methodology, starting from reservoirs to wells covering their dynamic performance and well inflow/outflow
performances. A dynamic run result indicated reservoir EF & GH gave a minimum incremental reserves
and some cases negative incremental compared to NFA case. Drilled down to well by well performance
indicated some wells are having faster water breakthrough and water cut incremental especially nearby
wells of identified TTESP-CD candidates. Due to interference (close well spacing) and higher withdrawal,
drawdown and higher instantaneous voidage created led to faster aquifer movement to identified TTESP-
CD wells and surrounding locations. In the other hand, the nearby wells experienced gross production rate
reduction with TTESP-CD well production increase which suspected due to productivity index reduction
contributed by pressure reduction (a side effect of huge drawdown cause by pump on nearby well).
Furthermore, existing gas lift can give continuous production with high water cut more than 95%. Since
the reservoir had minimum pressure dropped through time, there is no cases showing incremental reserves
due to lower abandonment pressure.
However, looking at the current limitation on the operating condition, gas lift system causes inefficiencies
which impede the base production and increase venting. Hence, the need of alternative solution is critical. A
12 IPTC-19474-MS

candidate from reservoir AB was selected since the reservoir indicate less interference to nearby wells and
was quite far away from aquifer movement direction. This gave an acceleration of reserves with minimal
impact on surrounding wells as well as additional value saving from venting reduction circa RM 6 Mill.
Based on the analysis, generally, all strong water drive reservoirs in Field B does not give positive
impact in incremental reserve through alternative artificial lift solution, from gas lift to pump. Nevertheless,
supported by previous installation, it is proven that with pump installation, it is giving reserves acceleration
of ∼0.15 MMSTB for both strings, even with slight water cut increase.

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Facilities Improvement. Having the advantage of existing facilities on ESP application, only minor
improvement and modification were required for the new installation. The surface modifications required
for Field B were mainly on flow line modification, surface equipment positioning, cable installation and
instrumentation tie-in. Two sets of VSD and SUT will be placed inside the Local Equipment Room (LER-
A) at the drilling platform which is located 150 meters away from the wellhead.
The main surface improvement is the wellhead and flow line modification. New spool for TTESP-CD
cable termination is required with estimated height of around 24" on top of the existing wellhead. Due to
the new spool requirement, flow line height adjustment is required to compensate for the new modification.
In term of instrumentation improvement, TTESP-CD surveillance data and control will be tied-in into the
existing PI system. This is to allow a two-way communication for Field B CRO to start or stop and adjust
the TTESP-CD speed from the control room besides enabled the performance to be monitored from office
workstation.
For the execution, Field B was planned mostly with modular pumping unit as to reduce the cost of having
work barge for continuous 24 hours' operation.

Field P
Field Background. Field P is a marginal field located 300 km offshore Peninsular Malaysia with 7 years
of production contributed from 6 oil producers, all gas lifted with gas lift gas supplied by few gas wells.
Declining reservoir pressure and increasing water cut led to higher gas lift demand required to achieve field
technical potential. Further worsened by the fact that limitation on gas volume discharge from compressor
to accommodate gas lift demand by wells, artificial lift method conversion from gas lift to ESP is seen as
the only way out to continue monetizing reserves from this field. Artificial lift method conversion from gas
lift to ESP is seen as the only way out to continue monetizing reserves from this field. As Field P production
is approaching its economic limit, TTESP is also deemed necessary to further accelerate production and
maximize oil recovery in the lowest possible cost as well as to provide ullage for upcoming development
projects planned for year 2020 on the same platform.
Candidates Selection. Well candidates screening for Field P is divided into 3 evaluation aspects, mainly
reservoir and fluid properties, well conditions and completion, and surface platform readiness for TTESP.
All the wells in Field P are under-saturated and having strong water drive: very suitable candidates for ESP
implementation. Sufficient consideration is also given to look into TTESP feasibility at field P due to the
waxy nature of crude, with wax appearance temperature (WAT) at 69°C and pour point at 51°C. During
flowing, TTESP is expected to provide additional heat with increase in fluid flow and eventually prevent
wax with slightly higher flowing temperature. With TTESP installation, diesel pumping into the well during
prolonged well shut-in is still possible. Even if wax is formed, the pump itself during restarts gives enough
pressure to push the wax. TTESP conversion is highly feasible in the field due to available space, crane and
surplus power since only approximately 26% power available is utilized proving surplus power to cater for
more than one TTESP. There is also available safe zone for surface equipment location. Although the space
on the main deck is limited, TTESP installation is still manageable.
The limiting factor at Field P however is mainly on the tubing size. All the wells are completed with
2-7/8" except for 2 wells with 3-1/2" tubing which were excluded from the candidates list as they are already
IPTC-19474-MS 13

producing at liquid rate above the 2.72" TTESP capacity. Similarly, other 2 wells with 2-7/8" tubing are
currently producing at liquid rate above 2.17" TTESP capacity. However, these 4 wells were recommended
for conventional ESP instead due to their higher AOF potential. Final screening stage has identified well
A1 as TTESP candidate passing all screening criteria's set, with high AOF potential of 4.9 KBD This well
has been idle since July 2017 due to casing integrity issue making it impossible to be gas lifted unless rig
work-over is conducted with a very high estimated cost. TTESP installation found the best option to avoid
work-over and to produce from this well to unlock approximately 0.16 MMSTB reserves.

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TTESP-CD Design. In order to revive and prolong well A1 life, N217 High Rate TTESP is to be installed
to enable production from K15 zone without gas lift and having to work-over the well due to field nearing
the economic limit. Robust and fit for purpose design is a must to obtain green light and approval for
TTESP installation. Based on the design summary in Table 5, with low bubble point pressure of 420 psi, it
is considered a perfect candidate for TTESP application.

Table 5—TTESP-CD Base Case Design for A1

Idle well reactivation via TTESP installation in well A1 will give positive value of 0.6 KBD of oil gain.
With 0% GVF expected, AGH is eliminated to keep the cost at a minimum as well as to reduce the equipment
stack up length during installation. Tandem motor is required to supply 94 HP for TTESP at this well.
Reservoir Evaluation. Field P wells produce from three major reservoirs, K10, K15 and K20 in which
all supported with strong water drive mechanism. Stable static pressure performance in the range of 2,624
psia to 2,668 psia indicates good support from water drive. GOR in these reservoirs remain low from 78 up
to 83 scf/ STB due to the reservoir pressure still much higher than the bubble point pressure at 420 to 517
psia. The oil produced in this field has a density of 31.4° API. The characteristic of reservoirs and fluids at
Field P have shown this field to be highly suitable for ESP application.
Zooming into the reservoir assessment at well A1, K15/20 producing zone at this well is located a little
down dip as compared to the other producers along the same reservoir. Well A1 initially flowed from K15/
K20 zone with low WC until midst of 2015 before the well was closed in due to casing leak issue hindering
gas lift injection. Since then well A1 has been zone changed to different upper zones which is able to flow
naturally to allow the well remain flowing. The well then finally ceased production from the upper zone
in Q4 2017 due to reservoir pressure depletion. Using DCA method, additional reserves of 0.16 MMSTB
will be unlocked with the reactivation of zone K15/ K20 idle zone via TTESP, based on production cut off
in March 2020.
Facilities Improvement. A dedicated multidisciplinary team of mechanical, structural, electrical,
instrumentation, process and construction has been working on the surface engineering to prepare well
14 IPTC-19474-MS

A1 to accommodate TTESP installation. Crane capacity is 20 metric tons which is sufficient to lift the
heaviest telescopic mast weighing 9 metric tons. During TTESP installation, the mast will have to sit on
some elevating blocks as the hatch covers are not flush with the main deck.
The major modification required will be on the installation of cable termination spool between Xmas tree
and tubing head spool requiring small flow line modification and extension and extra flow line supports.
As for the topside electrical, there are several options but the VSD and transformer is best to be installed
indoor at the main deck inside the existing LER. There is also spare cubicles and surplus power to install

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4 to 5 TTESPs. The VSD and TTESP can easily be tied into the existing DCS system with minor physical
modification involving cabling. Other critical surface requirements for well A1 are the installation of THP
pressure transmitters upstream of choke valve, installation of wellhead production choke valve and heat
tracing temporary removal and installation.
As part of lessons learned from pilot TTESP well execution, TTESP installation at well A1 will only
involve 3 days' pre-job with 7 days' main job including hook up and commissioning, much shorter duration
than well workover which may take up to 30 days, with high risk and cost exposure. Substantial cost saving
is also achievable via installation without barge by utilizing available resources and logistics, 24 hours'
operation, and all electrical and instrumentation equipment installation and hook up will be performed
internally.

Conclusion
TTESP-CD pilot application in PETRONAS really acted as a game changer to the overall ESP technology
and implementation strategy. Requirements for low capital expenditure and economically viable project
with attractive revenue generation and fast payback over short producing window pushes the boundaries
of cost reductions via various execution planning re-strategizing. TTESP installation itself is a major cost
saving initiative, seeing a significant cost reduction of 70-86%, as compared to estimated workover cost at
∼RM 40 million per well/string.
While overlooking on further improvement and flexibility to the existing system, PETRONAS team had
geared up the effort in exploring more application in Malaysia's asset through case studies and engineering
evaluation to ensure smooth and successful replication which will bring more value to the company.
PETRONAS is looking forward for further learnings from future retrieval of current pilot application
besides the planned TTESP-CD execution in 2019. In addition, continuous collaboration through
multidisciplinary discipline together with technology providers' involvement are critical to deliver a
successful result to future replications.

Recommendation
As PETRONAS is looking for more applications of TTESP-CD in Malaysia's fields, more improvement
is expected and hence continuous collaboration with the service providers to offer advancement and new
solutions as per the following:
1. As the current system has the limitation of gas handling only up to 40% GVF, an improvement to the
gas handling capacity is required to allow more TTESP-CD replications in higher gas oil producers
at smaller size pumps need to be pursued so that more wells
2. Innovation to develop bigger capacity for 2.17" and 2.72" pump that will provide more opportunity
for TTESP-CD replication as well as maximizing the oil production
3. Bigger motor capacity to reduce the length of total TTESP-CD BHA, which currently relying on
tandem PMM for any high pump stages application.
4. TTESP-CD design and deployment method need to be improved to allow top down section installation
to cater for deeper wells application
IPTC-19474-MS 15

5. Current Insert Safety Valve (ISV) requires a custom design to fit the existing subsurface safety valve
with lock profile. A nippleless solution or bespoke ISV would improve the application for simpler
implementation
6. A standard spool design that could fit to all type of X-mas tree would help in volumes applications
and further cost optimization
7. An improvement to the TTESP-CD BHA with seal/retrievable packer that will reduce the RIH time
for TTESP-CD installation

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8. Deployment cable for TTESP-CD that can be utilized for high CO2 and H2S environment
9. Compact surface equipment for TTESP is crucial for project execution on small/satellite platform

Acknowledgement
1. PETRONAS Carigali and the leadership team for the continuous support in the development and
improvement to the TTESP-CD system
2. NOVOMET, the TTESP BHA and ESP surface equipment provider, for willingness to participate
at their own financial risk for the advancement of the technology
3. OLIO/RMSPumpTools, the Cable Termination System Provider, for efforts in the improvement to
the cable orientation procedure using the alignment tool
4. DELEUM Oilfield Sdn Bhd, for continuous support in providing the additional requirements for
TTESP-CD replication in Malaysia

References
1. IPTC-192100-MS: Truly Rigless: A World First through 3-1/2" Tubing Cable Deployed
Electrical Submersible Pump on a Live Well, 2018 Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Conference and
Exhibition (APOGCE)