Subsea Jet Pump Pressure Boosting for Declining Well Flow
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Subsea wells experience pressure decline over time, making it difficult to sustain production without additional resources, as existing technologies struggle to efficiently boost low-pressure fluids to meet production requirements.
Innovation Solution
A subsea jet pump system that combines high-pressure motive fluid with low-pressure fluid within a throat, increasing the discharge pressure to facilitate efficient subsea production recovery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If subsea wells are operated over time, then production experience accumulates, but pressure declines making flow insufficient to sustain production
Solution Approach 1:
A jet pump is introduced as an intermediary device between the low-pressure well and the production facility. The jet pump uses a high-pressure motive fluid to drive a low-pressure pump, acting as a mediator that transfers energy from the high-pressure fluid to boost the low-pressure well fluid to sufficient discharge pressure for sustained production.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the pressure parameter of the well fluid by using a jet pump to convert high-pressure motive fluid into mechanical energy that boosts the low-pressure well fluid. This parameter transformation allows the well to maintain production despite natural pressure decline over time.
2Reliability
If ancillary components such as pumps are added to support pressure, then production can be sustained, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The jet pump system is designed to be self-service by using a portion of the high-pressure motive fluid from the well itself to drive the pump. This eliminates the need for external power sources or additional complex control systems, maintaining production sustainability while minimizing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The jet pump serves multiple functions: it acts as a pressure booster, a flow driver, and an energy transfer device. By combining these functions into a single component, the system achieves production sustainability without proportionally increasing device complexity.
3Productivity
If new wells are installed to compensate for pressure decline, then production can be maintained, but device complexity and resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts to pressure decline by using the jet pump to adjust discharge pressure in real-time. This dynamic pressure adjustment allows a single well to maintain productivity despite changing conditions, eliminating the need for additional static wells.
Solution Approach 2:
The jet pump system is installed in advance to prevent production decline. By proactively boosting pressure before the well becomes non-productive, the system maintains productivity without needing to drill additional wells as a corrective measure.
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
Enhances subsea production by boosting low-pressure fluids to sustainable discharge pressures, reducing the need for additional resources and maintaining production efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The jet pump receives a high-pressure motive fluid from a source, facilitates a mixture of the high-pressure motive fluid and the low-pressure fluid that passes through a throat of the subsea jet pump, and discharges the mixture at an elevated pressure relative to a pressure of the low-pressure fluid
Data Source
AI summary
A system for enhancing subsea production recovery can include a subsea jet pump disposed within piping that is configured to receive a low-pressure fluid from a low-pressure subsea well, where the subsea jet pump is further configured to receive a high-pressure motive fluid from a source, where the subsea jet pump is further configured to push a mixture of the high-pressure motive fluid and the low-pressure fluid through a throat of the subsea jet pump, where the subsea jet pump is further configured to discharge the mixture at an elevated pressure relative to a pressure of the low-pressure fluid toward a production facility.