With the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) technology and IR4.0, digital information is becoming more integrated into our daily operations. Such a modality of operation allows all disciplines in an organization to collaboratively manage and operate their assets to achieve the maximum value of their assets. In this paper we describe one of the initiatives under the company's digital transformation strategy. It is a simple yet innovative application of Advanced Process Control (APC) that facilitates continuous optimization of the performance of Electric Submersible Pumps (ESP), to not only comply with the assigned production targets, but also to automatically meet the operational constraints. The successful implementation of this technology on multiple oil wells in an onshore oilfield has demonstrated significant power saving, and is expected to minimize premature failures and extend pump life.

Downhole gauges for ESP systems typically use the motor power cable for communicating data to surface. This type of gauge technology, also known as "Comms on power," has been in use for many years and has become a reliable method for monitoring pump and well performance. Downhole data acquisition also delivers benefits in reservoir management where continuous data from the well is required. Any loss of this downhole data has a significant impact to accurately understanding the well performance and reservoir recovery.Current gauge technology is susceptible to problems when the insulation on the motor cable ages or is damaged. This means that the gauge signal will be lost when a ground fault occurs, even if the ESP motor continues to drive the pump and the gauge itself is undamaged. Current ESP gauges also typically provided slower data rates than permanent gauges that have dedicated instrument lines to surface.In such situations there are two options to recover the downhole data; conventional data acquisition using wireline or workover to repair the ground fault. Both required additional operational cost. Furthermore, any opportunities to obtain improved ESP monitoring and continuous data acquisition for reservoir management are gone.Saudi Aramco has been engaged in several years of technology trials carried out in Saudi Arabia leading to a successful field trial of a new downhole sensor system. Saudi Aramco's drive for continuous data when the ESP has experienced a ground fault has been the catalyst for the support given to this system. The system was installed in April 2013 in the Khurais field and is currently still running today -the system was confirmed to be fully functional in ground fault conditions. This paper presents the new technology, the history of trails and the installation, outlining the potential for future use.

Electric Submersible Pumps (ESPs) is very popular artificial lift systems to boost oil production now days. Home ofmany ESP installations, with high frequency of change outs per year and with the harsh production environment, a development of ESP technologies to reduce change-out time and improve run life is keep ongoing. These technologies address business challenges timely in a proactive approach. Currently deployed ESPs require a time-consuming rig installation on jointed tubing. With several factors such as: an average run life of three years for ESPs, a rig-based change-out time of up to two weeks offshore, and an uncertainty of when a rig can be scheduled; the need for a more rapid rigless solution is critical for future operations. Majority of the ESP installation are completed as part of tubing completion and deployed by drilling rig which requires high spending to recover the well during ESP replacement. Several types of technologies to deploy ESP rig-lessly were introduced into industry to optimize the retrieval and deployment cost during ESP replacement. Limited success story was recorded and open more thought to overcome the challenges. The first worldwide new reliable cable rigless deployed electrical submersible pumping (ESP) system was successfully installed and put on production. What makes this system unique concept and the first worldwide of its kind are two main components. The first component is the innovative cable hanger design that insures total cable isolation while providing a non-restricted flow through the tubes that are built into the body of the spool. The second component is the specially designed and manufactured CT from selected material that has high resistance to H2S and CO2 and it was made exactly fit the ESP cable providing full protection from corrosive wellbore fluid. This design aimed to boost production of oil wells with lower ESPs installation and replacement cost. The new system eliminates the need for and expensive rig to replace the ESP and accelerate production restoration. This system will be a great addition especially for offshore environments where not only the rig intervention costs are expensive, but also limited rig availability can delay ESP replacement. This paper will share the concept, design, field implementation planning and technical challenges, lesson learnt during preparation and installation of this first of kind system.

This paper describes the development and field trial test of a new well intervention service tool for lifting observation wells for oil saturation logging. The Well Intervention Service Tool (WIST) is a high efficiency, slim hole pumping system that is conveyed and powered through a wireline power cable to appropriate depth in order to lift wellbore fluids. A multi-resettable inflatable packer system was developed to work in conjunction with the permanent magnet motor pumping system, which allows the pump to be positioned and repositioned in the well as required. This improves operational efficiency, enabling jobs to be conducted in a single run, rather than multiple runs as would be the case with conventional packer design. A field trial test was conducted to qualify the prototype system. This paper will describe the test result and future improvement plans. This lightweight cable deployed pump system is an alternative to coiled tubing and nitrogen lift jobs, which can often be expensive and logistically challenging, requiring large amount of equipment and personnel at the wellsite to perform the activity. Solutions to the issues encountered during this work have since been successfully implemented in further testing.

The oil industry has been for many years, growing and innovating technology over time. Economic cost is the main driver for changes that occur in our industry and the need to overcome a variety of challenges from reservoir to production to have a profitable well. Saudi Aramco as one of the largest operators worldwide have several fields that run completely on artificial lift, mainly ESPs, to produce. These ESPs are known to be prone to wear and tear, requiring replacement every few years. Conventionally through the use of a workover rig, these ESP and upper completion are replaced every so often. In recent years, the decline of the oil prices worldwide has cited the need to reduce capital & operational expenses to maximize the profitability in our economic analysis. Saudi Aramco, as a lead oil & gas operator is paving the way in alternative deployments method of ESP completion. This paper details Saudi Aramco’s successful deployment and qualification of a high rate, slim design alternative deployed ESP system. As part of the qualification criteria the system was successfully installed, removed and reinstalled three times over a six month period on slick-line.