Cost-Effective Solution for Highly Deviated Wells in Egypt: The Optimal: Artificial Lift System (ALS) Combination Using Continuous Rod with RRP

Abstract

The oil and gas (O&G) industry has long believed that rod-driven artificial lift systems (ALS) are only suitable for vertical wells. Therefore, Electrical Submersible Pumping (ESP) has been the preferred option for highly deviated wells due to the risks associated with tubing and sucker rod wear. Nonetheless, ESPs are expensive and require high power consumption. When ESP Operational Expenditure (OPEX) becomes too elevated over time, operating the well is no longer economically feasible. This paper proposes an optimal ALS combination for an oil application with challenging wellbore geometry in Egypt, using a cost-effective ALS resulting in lower power consumption and fewer workover intervention expenses to improve lifting costs in highly deviated wells.

The Fadl-3 well is a highly deviated well in Egypt with a dogleg severity (DLS) value of 11.70°/100 ft and 300 pounds-force (lbf) side load. Initially, the well was completed with an ESP as the primary ALS, but over time, the production started declining, and the energy consumption required by the ESP was high, making it unsustainable to operate with this expensive ALS. The operator sought a more cost-effective solution, and in Egypt, rod-driven ALS such as Reciprocating Rod Pumping (RRP) and Progressing Cavity Pumping (PCP) have always been considered too risky for highly deviated wells. However, by combining RRP or PCP with continuous rod, the side load has been decreased to 9 lbf, minimizing the risk of failure due to tubing wear, rod parted, or any other intervention resulting from aggressive wellbore geometry. Continuous rod works with a minimum of two coupling connections, one at each end of the rod string, making it a valuable alternative for deviated or horizontal wells by distributing the contact load throughout the entire rod string length, eliminating high contact load value sections.

This paper demonstrates how the combination of RRP with continuous rods can be an optimum solution to overcome the challenges of using a rod-driven artificial lift in aggressive wellbore geometries. The results of this application in Egypt, where RRP was combined with continuous sucker rod string in a highly deviated well, prove how to make the transition from an expensive ESP technology feasible to a more cost-effective solution to accelerate the return on investment. The ALS solution provided 40% OPEX related to power consumption and 25% cost savings compared to the previous lift systems deployed in this well. The Fadl-3 well has been in operation using RRP and continuous rod since May 2022, producing 100 barrels of fluid per day (BFPD), 38 °API, 50% Water Cut (WC).