Activation of a non-eruptive well by using an electrical pump to optimise production

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to activate a well named X (for confidential reasons) in order to improve its production by proposing an electrical submersible pump. The nodal analysis is performed to understand the well’s condition and an economic evaluation is done to determine the applicability of the project. The initial completion data, the pump placement data and the economic data are considered and used as input in PIPESIM 2017 software for operations and simulations. The results obtained from nodal analysis show that the well is in a total depletion situation. Upon analysis, the electrical submersible pump type REDA S6000N with operational diameter of 5.38 inches is appropriately chosen and installed, resulting in a flowrate of 4,891.36 stock-tank barrels per day (stb/d) with a bottom pressure of 2,735 pounds per square inch (psi). A flowrate of 5,000 stock-tank barrels per day at a pressure of 2,707 psi is obtained after optimisation of the pump through sensitivity curves. The economic balance sheet presents a net present value of USD 110,718,250, showing the profitability of the project over a period of one year.