Srinivasa Rao Sambangi (Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering)
Gas Separation Efficiency in Electrical Submersible Pump Installations with Rotary Gas Separators
(70 pp. – Chapter VII)
Directed by Dr. Zelimir Schmidt and Dr. Dale R. Doty
(200 words)
The presence of free gas downhole makes the operation of Electrical Submersible Pumps (ESPs) very inefficient and frequent shut downs due to gas locking make the pump’s run life very short, thus making the operation non-profitable. Reverse flow and rotary gas separators are used for eliminating gas locking problems in Electrical Submersible Pumps in wells where the free gas percentage at the pump intake is known to be greater than I 0%. However, the separation process is not well understood and no reliable procedure to quantify the separation efficiency is available. As a result, for design purposes the separation efficiency in most cases is simply guessed.
The objectives of this study are to expand the experimental window of a previous test program in order to obtain a large amount of experimental data, to validate the predictions of an existing model, and to make necessary modifications to the model. The test facility was modified to accommodate higher liquid and gas flow rates and necessary instrumentation was added. Experimental data were collected at liquid flow rates up to 3000 bpd, gas liquid ratios up to 300 scf/STB, and system pressures up to 300 psig. The model was modified to improve its prediction capabilities.
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