Different Applications for Artificial Lift

An artificial lift is used to lower the bottom hole pressure (BHP) and raise production in a liquid well. Positive-displacement pumps, like progressive cavity pumps (PCP) or beam (sucker-rod) pumps are used to enhance production by lowering intake pressure. However, centrifugal pumps can perform this same job, expect with an electrical submersible pump (ESP) system. Other artificial lifts include: jet hydraulic and reciprocating pumps and plunger lifts. Many oil wells and gas wells will need an artificial lift to increase liquid production, but these lifts have many more applications. Below is a few examples of artificial lift applications. 

Deep Water Oil Pumping
Deep water oil pumping would only be mildly successful without an artificial lift or subsea lift system. Lifts and flow boosting systems can be a major part of deep water oil production and essential for making an oil drilling project commercially viable. There are two artificial lifts that are perfect for this job: the subsea multiphase boosting pumps and electrical submersible pumps (ESPs). However, it’s best to choose a pumping approach that accounts for infrastructure, reservoir and environmental factors. Gas lifts can be combined with these systems and used in demanding deep-water conditions, such as on caissons and the seafloor. 

Bitumen Production
As the demand for energy increases, so does the demand for hydrocarbons like bitumen or heavy oil. Because bitumen doesn’t flow freely, this also means an increase in a production process that’s already slow, expensive and arduous. This is where artificial lift systems come in. Bitumen is recovered from oils sands via mining, but not all these deposits can be mined. So, thermal recovery techniques must be employed. Thermal recovery techniques include: cyclic steam stimulation (CSS), steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) and steam flooding – all made possible with a high-temperature ESP system. In every method, the high temperature reduces the oil’s viscosity and allow it to flow faster. High temperature ESP systems have and will continue to improve heavy oil production techniques

Removing Liquid from Gas Wells
Generally, gas wells don’t need the assistance of an artificial lift. However, these wells can produce liquids (liquid loading); mostly water, that can accumulate in the well bore, increase pressure (back pressure), limit gas recovery, and block or inhibit gas flow. An artificial lift is needed to continuously remove liquid and maximize inflow and outflow in gas wells. This lift essentially reverses liquid loading by lowering the bottom-hole pressure (BHP). Reverse liquid loading is essential in aging reservoirs, as pressure in gas wells declines with age, thus allowing more liquid accumulation. So, artificial lift methods are used to remove this liquid, including progressive cavity pumping using a PCP pump, sucker rod pumping using a carbon rod, electrical submersible pumping and hydraulic pumping. 

http://www.liftingsolutionsinc.com/
 

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