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Electric Submersible Pumps (ESPs) are commonly known in the Artificial Lift Systems for high flowrates capabilities; however, it’s been limited on tight casing application due to not only HP constrains, but also for presenting restriction in terms of chemical treatment all the way down to the bottom of the equipment and reliability concern on tandem motor applications. Recently an operating...

Electric Submersible Pumps (ESPs) remain one of the most widely deployed artificial lift technologies for maximizing production from Permian wells. Operating companies often find themselves installing ESPs between multiple producing zones or even below the perforated intervals for several reasons, including the goal of maximizing production by setting the pump as deep as possible and increasing...

Oil wells utilizing Electric Submersible Pump (ESP) systems require substantial electrical power for continuous operation leading to large operation electrical expenses and inefficiencies in traditional induction motor (IM) setups. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of integrating Permanent Magnet Motors (PMMs) into ESP configurations to achieve superior power densities and operational...

This paper presents the Gas Release System Bypass, the latest advancement in gas regulation and separation technologies for Electric Submersible Pump systems operating in high-GLR and gas-slugging environments. The GRSB enhances conventional gas-handling methods by integrating the principles of gas regulation, pressurization, centrifugal dispersion, and controlled gas venting through a dedicated...

The Oxy Texas Delaware North Business Unit (TXDN) experiences frequent premature failures from severe downhole corrosion due to reservoir conditions and chemical undertreatment in wells with 1yr operating life. Typical damage occurs on undertreated annular gas lift wells near cap-string clamps/bands. Turbulent flow occurs on these components from high velocity flowrates, stripping chemical...

As the global oil industry increasingly relies on unconventional and marginal assets, operators face a complex array of production challenges. These include high viscosity fluids, significant solid content, gas interference, and the need for deployment in deviated wellbores. Traditional lift methods, such as beam pumping and conventional rotary electric submersible pumps (ESPs), often reach their...

The Appalachian Basin, specifically the Marcellus and Utica shales, are known for their initial low water-to-gas ratios and appealing high gas rates.  This, however, leaves operators with establishing phase of life flow paths as the well declines.  Installing production tubing too early leaves the asset producing at a constrained rate due to frictional losses downhole.  These constraints have been...

Examine the structured development and implementation of the Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QAQC) Team at Oxy, emphasizing the team's strategic impact on reducing operational expenditures (OPEX). The QAQC team delivers targeted training in sucker rod maintenance and handling to more than 100 workover crews, conducts systematic audits of pump shops across Oxy's U.S. assets, and actively...

1. OBJECTIVES/SCOPE:  Horizontal drilling is an essential technology for exploiting unconventional resources. However, wellbores often include zones with high Dog Leg Severity (DLS), which can limit the installation of Electrical Submersible Pumping (ESP) systems at the deepest possible setting depth. Placing the ESP as deep as possible is critical to maximizing recovery and cash flow. This work...

In response to rising demands for operational efficiency, power challenges, environmental responsibility, and workplace safety, this paper presents a case study on the integration of high-efficiency Permanent Magnet Motors (PMMs) and Power Regenerative Variable Speed Drive systems on long-stroke and conventional pumping units. This initiative was the result of a strategic collaboration between...

Unconventional reservoirs have accelerated the need for artificial lift strategies that recognize the fundamentally multiphase nature of modern well production. Traditional classifications of wells as strictly “oil” or “gas” producers—and the corresponding artificial lift systems historically assigned to each—no longer reflect operational reality, particularly in liquids-rich plays where...

Intermittent gas wells frequently suffer production losses due to liquid loading and the limitations of manual or SCADA-driven cycling. This work introduces an edge-native autonomous control system that optimizes liquid unloading and flowback behavior using a hybrid physics-based and machine-learning (ML) framework. Deployed directly at the wellsite on rugged IIoT gateways, the system continuously...

In the Bakken, holes in tubing caused by rod-on-tubing wear are one of the most prevalent mechanisms of downhole failures in rod pumped applications, especially in deep, highly deviated wells. A common mitigation method involves using borided tubing in sections where tubing splits occur, typically near the pump where compressive and buckling forces are highest. Installing borided tubing along the...

Unconventional play drilling and completion are pushing for longer laterals and more aggressive fracturing to maximize reservoir contact. On the other hand, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for artificial lift. This study characterizes artificial lift trends in the Midland and Delaware Basins using a dataset of well completions, production performance, and lift methods. Results show distinct...

"Cyclic air-steam injection (CASI) is emerging as a promising method for producing hydrogen directly from heavy oil and bitumen reservoirs, offering a potentially low-cost and low-emission alternative to conventional hydrogen production technologies. In this study, a Lloydminster heavy oil reservoir model was developed in CMG STARS to simulate in-situ hydrogen production using CASI. The process...

Study of corrosion fatigue and its effects on sucker rods. Study of the effects and applications of corrosion inhibitors.   

Using permanent magnet motors to power electrical submersible pumps provides a more enhanced performance in terms of electrical consumption, efficiency and the type of challenging and unconventional wells that it can operate in. Therefore, industry professionals, through laboratory testing, find PMMs to be a superior alternative for induction motors due to their practical and economical benefits. ...

This project focuses on the impact that VFD can have on sucker rod pumps regarding fluid production, power consumption, rod loads, among other possible effects.   

S curve wells and high kickoff wells pose great challenges to artificial lift, specifically, wells drilled with gas lift in mind and needing to be changed to ESP or rod lift in the future. This poster examines operational constraints of these wells, including complications in installation, pump performance, and bottom hole pressure.  

Determining BHP is key when optimizing production in oil wells. Inclusion of intermittent gas lift or plunger lift causes a change in BHP at specified intervals, typically at a set pressure. In turn, these artificial lift systems create an additional factor when determining BHP and must be accounted for accordingly. This project will explore one of these topics.   

Gas Lift (GL) has emerged as a preferred Artificial Lift (AL) technology in the Permian Basin. As GL wells age, operators are looking at late-life AL alternatives, such as Plunger Assisted Gas Lift (PAGL) and Gas Assisted Plunger Lift (GAPL) to reduce gas injection and improve overall lift efficiency. However, conversion to these plunger-based late-life AL systems has been slow and somewhat costly...

Gas lift is the primary artificial lift system utilized across approximately 2,000 wells in Oxy’s Delaware Basin assets. As the number of wells increase and personnel resources remain constrained, production engineers frequently focus on resolving urgent operational issues, such as well or equipment failures. This situation results in limited time for consistent and proactive surveillance and...

Sucker rod pumps (SRPs) remain the leading artificial lift (AL) method worldwide, with technological advancements tracing back to the wave equation development in the 1960s. Leveraging edge-based technologies, a new workflow has been developed to enhance existing Pump-Off Controller (POC) capabilities. This workflow integrates machine learning (ML)-driven dynamometer card classification for real...

Pump off controllers (POC’s) that produce dynamometer cards are and have been the preferred method of detecting pump off in rod pump applications. In addition to detecting pump off, these devices provide several leading indicators such as run time, cycles, peak and minimum loads, gearbox and rod stress, and a variety of other data points. In order to do this, a load cell, a position measuring...

Dynamic sucker rod sucker rod modeling in deviated wells has proven difficult. Wave equation solutions – when applied to measured surface cards - have generally produced dubious pump cards. Recently acquired measurements collected from deviated wells using downhole dynamometers have inspired a new wave equation formulation and a modern finite difference implementation. The new model produces pump...