Abstract
One of the main reasons, leading to the production decline of gas and gas-condensate wells is the accumulation of liquid fluid on the bottom of the well and formation of liquid blockage. Under certain conditions, bottom hole pressure drops, flow rate declines and gas velocity reduction becomes insufficient for the liquid lifting. Periodic gas purging of low-pressure wells practiced in Russia for water extraction, leads to the unproductive losses of hydrocarbons and forbids achieving stable operation. It leads to the retirement of wells out of the producing well stock, formation of dead zones with entrapped gas and, as the final result, to the waterflood hydrocarbon recovery drawdown. This problem can be solved by putting low-pressure flooded wells on pump, as international experience being indicative of its benefits.
Various engineering solutions based on the field tests of the techniques, mentioned above, were examined. The most suitable and viable technologies, for one of the Russian fields to be at the latest stage of reservoir development, were electric submersible centrifugal pumps (ESP) and electric progressive cavity pumps (ESPCP): with the removing of water to the surface and the subsequent injection of water into injection wells, and also with the injection of water into the underlying aquifer in the existing producing well.
We developed a rational method of hydraulic calculation and selection ESP and ESPCP for different operating conditions. Preliminary bench experiments of ESP’s, centrifugal gas separators and separator of mechanical impurities were carried out. The equipment has proven its efficiency.
The proposed solution will ensure the efficient functioning of the system of artificial-lift gas and gas-condensate well operation without using the unique expensive equipment. Also in a short period of time it could allow adapting the quantity produced submersible pumps for the conditions of gas industry.