REDUCING PIP BELOW 600 PSI BREAKING AND SEPARATING THE GAS SLUGS IN ESP: CASE STUDIES IN THE PERMIAN BASIN

High gas-liquid formation ratios appear as the fluid level decreases and as a result significant decreases in pumping efficiency are seen in the ESPs. This problem force frequent shutdowns in the pump because the gas is incapable of adequately cooling the motor and this forces the companies to maintain high fluid levels to avoid the formation of free gas at the pump intake, which increases the PIP and limits the production of fluid. A new and innovative downhole gas separator has been introduced in recent applications to treat gas slug’s problems. For these applications, a shrouded ESP with a double stage of gas separation connected to the bottom of the shroud as an intake was designed to break and separate gas slugs and avoid gas entrance into ESPs by forcing free gas to go around the shroud and produce through the casing. The gas separator uses an innovative design to break the gas slugs in the annular section between the casing and the tool, additional with the internal dual flow system the separation efficiency increases while it’s created a chamber lift filled with free gas liquid.  

With this new system, the fluid is now forced to pass through an additional gas separator which helps to separate gas and keeps lower PIP than usually promoting the fluid production in the wells.