Segmented Horizontal Well Pumping System for Uniform Drawdown
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pumping methods for horizontal wellbores are inefficient, leading to poor well performance due to localized drawdown and inadequate transport velocities, resulting in inconsistent production and premature depletion, especially in gas wells with in-situ water production and gas cap drive mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A pumping system with multiple horizontal pumps and a vertical lift pump, where the horizontal section is divided into segments with isolation devices, allowing for controlled drawdown and pressure management along the horizontal length, and a gas/liquid separator to optimize fluid extraction and manage gas cap drive.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a single pump is used at the heel of the horizontal wellbore, then the pump structure is simple and easy to operate, but the drawdown is localized and productivity is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The horizontal wellbore is divided into multiple segments with individual pumps placed at different locations (heel, intermediate, and toe sections). Each segment can be independently controlled to create distributed drawdown across the entire horizontal length, thereby increasing overall productivity while maintaining manageable operational complexity through modular pump units.
2Productivity
If multiple horizontal pumps are deployed along the horizontal section, then productivity and uniform drawdown are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pump system is designed with multi-functional capabilities where each pump unit can serve multiple purposes: production pumping, pressure control, and flow management. The system can operate in different modes (single pump, multiple pumps, or combinations with gas lift) depending on reservoir conditions, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high productivity.
3Productivity
If high gas rates are used to lift liquids in gas wells, then liquid transport is improved, but gas consumption increases and sustainability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Horizontal pumps are introduced as intermediary devices between the reservoir and the vertical section. These pumps actively move liquids through the horizontal wellbore section, eliminating the need to rely on high gas rates for liquid lifting. The pumps serve as a mediator that decouples liquid transport from gas consumption, thereby improving transport efficiency while reducing sustainable gas usage.
4Ease of manufacture
If a single drawdown location is used near the heel, then the pumping system is simple to implement, but premature depletion occurs at the heel and gas cap drive breaks through
Solution Approach 1:
The wellbore is segmented into multiple zones with individual pumps placed at strategic locations including the heel, intermediate sections, and toe. This segmentation allows for distributed drawdown that prevents premature depletion at any single location, particularly at the heel. The segmented approach maintains production stability by ensuring uniform reservoir depletion while keeping each pump unit simple to implement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables more uniform drawdown and increased productivity along the horizontal wellbore, reducing gas locking and gas pounding, and enhancing overall recovery factors by ensuring quasi-equilibrium production and efficient gas cap drive management.
Implementation Method 1
the drawdown is localized to the region in the heel of the wellbore. The drawdown pressure is also limited to the theoretical vapor pressure of the fluid being pumped.
Implementation Method 2
a gas/liquid separator for receiving produced fluids from the horizontal section
Implementation Method 3
When this occurs, gas escapes from solution and there exists at least two separate phases (gas and oil) in the reservoir, resulting in a gas cap drive.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of producing fluids from a reservoir includes isolating a vertical section of a wellbore from a horizontal section; isolating a production tubing from the reservoir; pumping fluid from the reservoir adjacent a toe segment into a production tubing toe segment and towards the heel segment; and pumping fluid from the reservoir adjacent a heel segment into the production tubing heel segment and towards the vertical section, and pumping fluid up the vertical section to the surface.