Published: 03/29/2021
Published: 03/29/2021
Shaya Project’s goal was to increase ESP lifetime and reduce workovers in a challenging mature field where engineers hoped a new waterflood project would transform 2 years of steep production declines into production increases. As the project began, however, uncertainty about production delivery was high—not only because the waterflood’s success was uncertain but also because the reservoir was already known to challenge ESP performance. As a result, engineers wanted an ESP with the widest possible production range.
Conventional ESP technology produced with an average run life of only 200 days because of the challenging conditions: 220- to 230-degF [104- to 110-degC] reservoir temperature, abrasive solids and gas production, and variable flow with a head requirement of 9,500 ft [2,896 m]. The waterflood was not expected to improve those factors.
RC1000 REDA Continuum ESP pumps are robust enough to produce fluids with high gas volume fraction and solids content, and they maintain high efficiency across a wide production range. Combined with real-time monitoring, optimization, and control with the Lift IQ production life cycle management service, Continuum pumps can handle even high-temperature production to extend run life far beyond that achieved with conventional pumps.
Shaya installed Continuum ESP pumps in 65 wells, achieving an average run life above 600 days despite the abrasive solids and production fluctuations during the waterflood optimization.
Continuously optimized with the Lift IQ service, the Continuum pumps have managed production changes from 83% decline in some wells to 40% increase in others. Overall, the field experienced an average production improvement of 16%. Shaya calculated the benefit of extended run life to avoid workovers and deferred production at USD 2.5 million.
Read more technical information in the technical paper, Changing the Way: Integrated Artificial Lift Strategy Overcomes Waterflooding and Mature Field Challenges Increasing 58% of Total Oil Production.
While ramping up a waterflood project in a mature field, Shaya Project installed REDA Continuum extended-life ESP pumps to enable production across a wide production range from 200 bbl/d [32 m3/d] (before waterflood) to 1,500 bbl/d [238 m3/d] (with optimized waterflood).
