Experimental Study on the Performance of Electrical Submersible Pump Operating with Ultraviscous Oil

Porcel, Cristhian Estrada; Biazussi, Jorge Luiz; Verde, William Monte; Bannwart, Antonio Carlos; Tavares, Alexandre; Santos, Marcelo Paulino; Rocha, Paulo Roberto Ribeiro

doi:10.2118/209221-pa

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 14 publications

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“…However, this traditional equipment severely suffers from performance degradation in producing viscous fluids due to extra hydraulic losses [1][2][3]. When using the ESP to transport high-viscosity fluids, the strong shearing effect within the rotating ESP impeller results in higher viscous stress and friction losses, not only reducing the pump head and efficiency but also increasing the shaft power [4][5][6][7]. As discussed in these studies, the performance degradation is predictable but inevitable.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Numerical Study on Labyrinth Screw Pump (LSP) Performance under Viscous Fluid Flow

Zeng

Wang

et al. 2023

Energies

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In this study, fluid viscosity effects on LSP performance in terms of boosting pressure were numerically investigated. A water–glycerin mixture with different concentrations corresponding to varying apparent viscosities was flowed through an in-house manufactured LSP under various flow conditions, e.g., changing flow rates, rotational speeds, and fluid viscosities. The pressure increment between the intake and discharge of the LSP was recorded using the differential pressure transducer. The same pump geometries, fluid properties and flow conditions were incorporated into the numerical configurations, where three-dimensional (3D), steady-state, Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations with a standard SST (shear stress transport) turbulence model were solved by a commercial CFD code. With the high-quality poly-hexcore grids, the simulated pressure increment was compared with the corresponding experimental measurement. The internal flow structures and characteristics within the cavities contained by the LSP impeller and diffuser were also analyzed. The good agreement between the numerical results against the experimental data verified the methodology adopted in this study.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Numerical Study on Labyrinth Screw Pump (LSP) Performance under Viscous Fluid Flow

Zeng

Wang

et al. 2023

Energies

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Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Fluid Viscosity on Electrical Submersible Pumps Performance

Verde

Kindermann

Biazussi

et al. 2022

SPE Production &Amp; Operations

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Summary Electrical submersible pumps (ESPs) are an important artificial lift method used in oil production. ESPs can provide high production flow rate, are flexible, and can be installed in highly deviated wells, subsea deepwater wells, or on the seabed. ESP performance is generally characterized by manufacturers using only water as fluid. However, oil properties are very different from water and significantly alter the pump’s performance. Operating ESPs with viscous fluids leads to degraded pump performance. Therefore, knowing the ESP’s performance when pumping viscous fluid is essential to properly design the production system. In this work, we present an experimental study of ESP performance operating with viscous flow. A total of six ESP models were tested, operating at four different rotational speeds and 11 viscosities, resulting in a comprehensive database of more than 5,800 operating conditions. This database contributes to the literature given the lack of available data. We also perform a phenomenological analysis on the influence of operational parameters, such as viscosity, rotational speed, specific speed, and rotational Reynolds number. The database and analyses performed are central for future models predicting the viscous performance of ESPs. The results from our investigation and tests showed that the increase in viscosity causes (1) a reduction in the head and (2) an increase in drive power, resulting in (3) a sharp decrease in efficiency. However, increasing rotational speed tends to mitigate this performance degradation. Efficiency and flow rate correction factors are virtually independent of the flow rate within the recommended operating region. This is not true for the head correction factor, which is not constant. The pump geometry seems to influence its performance as ESPs with higher specific speed are less impaired by viscous effects. The database obtained in the present work is available in the data repository of the University of Campinas, at the address presented by Monte Verde et al. (2022).

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Overcoming Practical Artificial Lift Challenges to Produce Extra-Heavy Oil from a Deep Reservoir in Northern Kuwait

Al-Murayri,

Akther,

Baroon

et al. 2024

Adipec

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Extra-heavy oil reserves in the Abdali field in Northern Kuwait exhibit a viscosity ranging from 6,000 to more than 15,000 cP at depths of ~9000 ft. Assuming a fully isolated tubing, the theoretical natural flow rate is less than 1.0 bbl/d. The viscosity profile shows an exponential trend inside the well reaching millions of centipoises at surface conditions. This paper investigates the lifting challenges and possible solutions for the efficient, practical and commercial production of these reserves. The study builds upon the findings presented in two previously published papers by Al-Murayri et al. (2024). A compositional EOS with a Pedersen (1987) viscosity model was used to accurately describe the properties of the oil, liquid solvent, and their mixture at different pressures and temperatures inside a vertical well. A correct fluid property description from PVT flash calculations was key for modelling the weight of the column, friction losses and the pressure distribution along the well. Jet Pump and ESP were considered. Other pumps were discarded either because of their incompatibility with the reservoir depth or due to their environmental footprint. Nodal analysis combined with advanced analytical calculations and numerical simulations were necessary to find feasible operating points for different well configurations. Abdali's oil must be diluted with liquid solvent at the bottomhole to reduce the viscous friction losses. Adding 70% mass fraction of liquid solvent reduces in-situ oil viscosity from 6,300 cP to 9 cP, and the viscosity at surface conditions from 3,000,000 cP to 65 cP. The proposed Jet Pump used the liquid solvent as power fluid. Its configuration ensured the desired BHP and liquid rate with good efficiency. The key parameters were the ratio of power fluid to the reservoir fluid, the pressure discharge, and the pump Nozzle diameter. ESP lifting necessitates a concentric tubing or a capillary tube for liquid solvent injection. A direct solvent injection into the annulus showed higher than target BHP due to the cumulative impact of the hydrostatic solvent column weight and the topside injection pressure. For the capillary tube, Bernoulli's equation proved that the hydraulic weight of the column is partially compensated with friction losses resulting in the desired BHP. It was shown that numerical simulations are necessary for nodal analysis of such a complex lift design. Prominent industrial well modelling packages cannot handle extra-heavy oil blends with liquid solvents due to a lack of EOS integration in their artificial lift design. This paper investigated a novel approach combining advanced analytical calculations with nodal analysis and numerical simulations to prove the feasibility of lifting a complex fluid mixture from a deep reservoir while capturing the flow dynamics from the bottomhole to the wellhead.

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Experimental Study on the Performance of Electrical Submersible Pump Operating with Ultraviscous Oil

Cited by 3 publications

References 14 publications

A Numerical Study on Labyrinth Screw Pump (LSP) Performance under Viscous Fluid Flow

A Numerical Study on Labyrinth Screw Pump (LSP) Performance under Viscous Fluid Flow

Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Fluid Viscosity on Electrical Submersible Pumps Performance

Overcoming Practical Artificial Lift Challenges to Produce Extra-Heavy Oil from a Deep Reservoir in Northern Kuwait

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