Petrolift

Engineered to exceed your expectations

Many wells face unstable inflow, high solids, or deviation that shorten the production lifecycle. SLB Petrolift jet pumps use a surface-driven power fluid to create a Venturi pressure drop that lifts production with no moving parts downhole, reducing mechanical wear and simplifying interventions. The robust, economical design is the perfect match for high-volume wells and fluids with high solids and gas content.

• Unconventional oil wells
• Conventional oil wells
• Gas well dewatering
• Coal mine dewatering
• CBM dewatering
• Geothermal wells

• No moving parts down hole
• In standard installations, the jet pump can be repaired at the wellsite without a workover rig, meaning lower operating and maintenance costs
• Effectively handles solids
• Controlled draw down to prevent formation damage
• Handles deviation up to 20° per 100 ft
• No gas locking
• Easily adaptable to many existing completions without workover intervention

• Available in high-grade alloys to combat corrosion attack
• Highly suited to deviated wells and deep wellbores ranging from 3,000 to 18,000 ft
• Equipped to handle gas-to-liquid ratios as high as 1,500:1

In standard installations, jet pumps are pumped down the tubing and seated in the bottom-hole assembly hydraulically, making the retrieval of the Petrolift jet pump simple. Changes to throat and nozzle configurations can be made in less than four hours of total onsite time.

1. Seat the jet pump—Insert the pump through the wellhead; pump down the tubing to land in the bottom-hole assembly.
2. Inject power fluid—Surface pump sends power fluid down the tubing and through the jet nozzle to create the Venturi effect.
3. The Venturi effect—Production fluids combine with the high-velocity low pressure power fluid in the throat; commingled fluids enter the diffuser and production fluid is lifted to the surface.
4. Pump retrieval—To remove or change the jet pump assembly, power fluid is pumped down the casing annulus and the pump is circulated to the surface where it is retrieved or changed out.

The Venturi effect: Why it matters

Jet pumps operate based on the Venturi effect. Power fluid, supplied by a pump on the surface, is forced through a restriction in the jet pump called a nozzle. The act of restricting the flow has two effects on the fluid: increased velocity and decreased pressure. This is known as the Venturi effect.

Formation fluid is drawn to this area of low pressure and commingles with power fluid in the jet pump throat. From here, the commingled fluid is slowed in the diffuser converting the high velocity fluid to high pressure, exits the jet pump and brought to the surface.

• Operating depth: ~3,000–18,000 ft (≈ 915–4,570 m)
• GLR handling: up to ~1,500:1
• Flow range: ~5–12,000 bbl/d (power-fluid dependent)
• Materials: corrosion-resistant alloys and coatings
• Intervention: no workover rig required, retrievable by power fluid