Sai Praveen Adiraju (Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering)
Artificial Lift Applications to Unconventional Reservoirs
Conclusions
Unconventional reservoirs are hydrocarbon-bearing formations with low permeability and porosity consisting of complex geological formations. Hydrocarbons in these formations were formed within the rock and never migrated, whereas conventional reservoirs have porous rock formation that contains hydrocarbons that have migrated from the source rock. The unique challenges posed by these reservoirs necessitate innovative production techniques to maximize hydrocarbon recovery.
The study begins by elucidating the significance of hydraulic fracturing in stimulating unconventional reservoirs. Hydraulic fracturing creates fractures in the formation, enhancing permeability and facilitating fluid flow. The subsequent discussion focuses on the various artificial lift methods employed in unconventional reservoirs. Artificial Lift (AL) methods have emerged as indispensable tools for enhancing production rates and optimizing the performance of unconventional reservoirs. Artificial lift methods include several factors, including reservoir characteristics, production rates, fluid properties, and economic considerations.
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engineering analysis and simulations with field data play pivotal roles in determining the optimal artificial lift strategy for each well or field.
This thesis provides a comprehensive overview of artificial lift applications to unconventional reservoirs and mainly focuses on the ESP and PCP due to their presence in the studied field. Commercial software PIPESIM is used in this study to determine well performance. All the simulations were run by using trilinear transient IPR which is mainly used for unconventional reservoirs. A novel approach has been used for this study to improve the reliability, efficiency, and applicability of artificial lifts in unconventional reservoirs. A comparison study was performed for ESP and PCP to figure out which artificial lift is optimal for the respective wells. This study gives a detailed output on implementing operational strategies based on their production rates and pump intake pressures with recommendation of al change method with the critical boundary parameters.