Inverted ESP Installation via Segmented Wellhead Housing
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wells with positive well head pressure, such as SAGD wells, the process of installing or removing an electric submersible pump requires depressurization through cooling, which prolongs servicing time due to the need to cool and reheat the well.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a coil tubing string with an electric submersible pump and control lines, along with a pump-receiving housing, allows for the insertion and removal of the pump without depressurizing the well by maintaining a positive pressure and using a sealed injection port system to manage the pump's placement and retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the well is cooled to depressurize it for pump installation or removal, then the pump can be installed or removed safely, but the servicing time increases due to cooling and reheating requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the wellhead into separate sealed ports (injection port and production ports) that can be independently controlled. This allows the injection port to be sealed for pump installation/removal while production ports remain open, eliminating the need to cool the entire well and enabling simultaneous production and maintenance operations.
Solution Approach 2:
A pump-receiving housing acts as an intermediary chamber between the pressurized well and the atmospheric environment. This housing allows pumps to be installed or removed in a controlled environment while the well remains pressurized, eliminating the need for depressurization through cooling.
2Stress or pressure
If the wellhead is sealed to maintain positive pressure, then well pressure integrity is maintained, but pump installation or removal becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The wellhead is segmented into multiple independently controllable ports. The injection port can be sealed to maintain well pressure while the pump-receiving housing provides a separate access point for pump installation and removal operations, making the process easier without compromising pressure integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump-receiving housing serves as an intermediary structure that facilitates pump installation and removal while the injection port remains sealed. This intermediary chamber allows operators to work on pumps without needing to open the main wellhead, thus maintaining pressure integrity while improving operational ease.
3Reliability
If the well is cooled for depressurization, then pump installation or removal can proceed, but production interruption occurs during cooling and reheating
Solution Approach 1:
The wellhead ports are segmented to allow independent operation. Production ports can remain open and operational while the injection port is sealed for pump maintenance, enabling continuous production during pump installation or removal and eliminating production interruptions associated with well cooling and reheating.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump-receiving housing acts as an intermediary that enables pump maintenance operations without affecting production. Pumps can be installed or removed through this housing while production continues through separate ports, maintaining productivity while ensuring safe pump installation and removal.
Data Source
AI summary
In combination, an inverted electric submersible pump (ESP) sized to fit within a downhole production path and a coiled tubing string. The coiled tubing string has an internal bore, and one or more supply lines housed within the internal bore and connected between surface and the inverted ESP. The inverted ESP has a pump section and a motor section, the motor section disposed above the pump section, and the pump section having one or more inlet ports and one or more outlet ports. At least one sealing element is positioned between the one or more inlet ports and the one or more outlet ports and is sized to seal against the downhole production path. A coiled tubing connection sealably connects the motor section to the coiled tubing string.