Abstract
To date, ASP flooding has been applied in commercial test in Daqing Oilfield for 17 years. From the beginning of the test, scaling issue in downhole artificial lift equipments had been realized as one of the most difficult problems in ASP flooding which resulted in high pump failure rate and operation cost. Therefore, the scaling principle in producers was studied in order to create a scaling risk analysis and risk prediction mechanism. In addition, Based on numerous laboratory study and field trial, a series of anti-scaling artificial lift techniques were developed as well, including surface material modification technique, special pump design, chemical scaling remover, etc.
Due to the considerable diversity of scaling phenomena in different blocks, different period and different wells, the anti-scaling artificial lift strategy was required to be adjusted respectively. Consequently, an innovative anti-scaling artificial lift methodology was created for different ASP flooding areas in Daqing Oilfield. This methodology was applied in 102 wells, both in beam pumping wells and PCP wells. The averaged running lives of artificial lift systems were improved from less than 30 days to over 300 days.
This paper detailed the developments of innovative artificial lift technology in ASP flooding in Daqing Oilfield. These new developments will effectively propel the commercial application of ASP flooding in petroleum industry.
