Paper: Selection of Artificial Lift for a Permian Basin Waterflood Project

The proper selection of an artificial lift system for a waterflood project will greatly influence the overall economics of the project. To achieve the most favorable economics, the lift system should have sufficient flexibility to handle the predicted range in producing rates, under the anticipated operating conditions, with minimum investment and operating costs. The optimum selection of a lift system depends on the design engineer's knowledge of (1) the factors which will influence the operation of the lift equipment (2) the advantages and disadvantages of the basic lift system and (3) the investment and operating costs. Two factors, common to all waterflood projects, normally considered first in the analysis of the optimum lift system are maximum anticipated fluid production and lift depth.