REDUCING ARTIFICIAL LIFT FAILURE RATE THROUGH OPTIMIZED TUBING INSPECTION

There are many potential failures in production wells which result from corrosive downhole environments, mechanical aspects of artificial lift or a combination thereof. Tubing failures constitute a costly failure mechanism in production wells. Tubing inspections can provide valuable insight on the condition of tubing as well as the distinction between causes of tubing degradation. This information is utilized to replace worn and pitted tubing joints, failure root cause analysis and implement solutions to mitigate future failures. Due to the high cost of a tubing failure, a high-quality tubing inspection is critical to identify potential failure mechanisms in a used tubing string. This paper serves to discuss the engineering and economic benefits of a tubing scanning program. The results of an in-plant inspection compared to an EMI wellhead inspection on two Anadarko wells in the Permian Basin exemplifies said benefits. This paper provides an in depth analysis of tubing inspection technology, the pros and cons of both wellhead and in-plant inspections and data utilization to reduce downhole failures.