SOCIETY
OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS
Mid-Continent Section, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Abstracts courtesy of Ken Saveth, ksaveth@juno.com
"Updated Field Case Studies of Application and Performance of Bottom Drive Progressing Cavity Pumps" - Cam Hayworth: Reda Pumps
To get a better understanding of Bottom Drive PC Pumps, some field cases will be looked at based upon application & performance.
On the motor portion, a 4 pole motor was used (1750 RPM @ 60 Hz). Four series were looked at & are listed below:
450 Series, single section (HP Ranges: 10 HP - 50 HP)
540 Series, single section (HP ranges: 10 HP - 70 HP)
562 Series in development stage
The modular motor protector was modified. The top chamber provides internal pressure equalization within the gear box. The bottom two chambers provide internal pressure equalization within the motor. The motor protector also provides a positive seal between the gear oil & the motor oil.
The REDA/NAMCO Gear Box Flex Drive was developed in order to effectively link the ESP motor’s concentric rotation with the PC pump’s eccentric rotation as well as reducing the motor speed to a speed with which the PC pump can operate. The Gear Box Flex Drive is currently available in 4:1 and 16: reduction ratios. Outside diameters for the gear box are 4.2" & 5.25" with a 6.875" in development.
Above this gear box, is the PC pump. From the bottom up, the system configuration is the ESP motor, the Modular Motor Protector, the REDA/NAMCO Gear Box Flex Drive, & finally the PC Pump. The entire system is labeled PCSPS (Progressing Cavity Submersible Pumping System)
The case studies that were done were with several operators in Canada. For the 540 Series PCSPS, the following applications were studied:
Elan Energy’s Cactus Lake & Bodo fields
Phillips Petroleum’s Coleville field
Husky Oil Operations’ Edgerton field
Wascana Energy’s Success field
For the 450 Series PCSPS, the following applications were studied:
Norcen Energy’s Enchant field
PanCanadian’s Consort & North Bodo fields
Taking a look at a summary of the system run life yields the following data:
540 Series Applications
Active Wells |
No. of Units |
Total HP |
Total Run Days |
Avg. Unit HP |
17 |
21 |
1260 |
7635 |
60 |
450 Series Applications
Active Wells |
No. of Units |
Total HP |
Total Run Days |
Avg. Unit HP |
3 |
3 |
120 |
189 |
40 |
To take a closer look at some specific cases, we will start with Elan Energy’s Cactus Lake field. The Cactus Lake reservoir properties are as follows:
Cactus Lake Reservoir Properties |
|
| Formation : | McLaren |
| Depth (TVD) : | 779 m |
| Net Pay : | 12 - 14 m |
| Porosity : | 0.33 |
| Permeability : | >5 Darcies |
| Gravity : | 11.5° API |
| Viscosity : | 10,000 cp (dead) 3,500 cp (estimated live) |
| Temp : | 25°C |
| Sand Cuts : | 0.1 - 5.0 % |
| Water Cuts : | >75 % |
| Max. Dogleg Severity : | 24.60°/ 30 m |
| Casing : | 21.9 mm |
The Cactus Lake application is a horizontal well with the PCSPS placed in the horizontal portion of the completion above a slotted liner. The PCSPS was installed because of frequent rod parts & workovers due to the heavy oil production & the fact that the pump placement was in the horizontal portion of the completion. The typical equipment configuration in Elan’s Cactus lake was a 60 HP unit. The PC Pump was a BMW 83-800 utilizing a 4:1 reduction in the gear box. The longest run life was 540 days.
Another case that was looked at was Phillips Petroleum’s Coleville field. The Coleville reservoir properties are as follows:
Coleville Reservoir Properties |
|
| Depth (TVD) ; | 829 m |
| Gravity : | 13° API |
| H2O Gravity : | 1.005 |
| H2S : | 2,000 ppm |
| Viscosity : | 2,000 cp (estimated live) |
| Temp : | 30°C |
| Sand Cuts : | < 0.1 % |
| Water Cuts : | > 75 % |
| Max. Dogleg Severity : | 19.89° / 30 m |
| Casing : | 21.9 mm |
As with the Cactus Lake application, the Coleville application is also a horizontal completion with the PCSPS set in the horizontal portion & above a slotted liner. Again, in this application the PCSPS was installed due to the problems associate with rods, heavy oil, & the horizontal completion. A typical 60 HP configuration used was a Kudu 20TP2000 pump & a 4:1 reduction in the gear box. The longest run life was 504 days. For the 70 HP units, the typical configuration was a Kudu 30TP1800 pump & a 4:1 gear box reduction also. The longest run time here was 148 days.
For Norcen’s Enchant field, the typical equipment configuration was a 40 HP motor, a Corod 12H32 pump using a 4:1 gear box reduction. The longest run life on this application was 60 days. Two previous runs were shorter where the pump seized up but no cause was associate with the seizing.
For Wascana’a Success field, the typical equipment configuration was a 70 HP motor, a Corod 8H110 pump using a 4:1 gear box reduction. On this application, the longest run life was 163 days.
In summary, it was found that the PCSPS system has proven to be a viable & economical alternative to the conventional sucker rod driven PC pump system as well as being viable for deviated, slant, & horizontal wells.
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