IPTC-19863-Abstract

Challenges of Installing ESP in Natural Flow Wells

Wadah Hussain, Alkhorayef Petrolum Company

Copyright 2020, International Petroleum Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the International Petroleum Technology Conference held in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 13 – 15 January 2020.

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Abstract
In natural flowing wells, the energy source is the reservoir pressure. The pressure that makes the oil flow
from the reservoir to the bottom of the well is known as the flowing bottom hole pressure. When bottom
hole pressure is relatively high, the pressure can raise the oil to the wellhead, and even into the gathering
manifolds and the separator, with time the reservoir pressure depleted gradually which will decline the
natural flow rate, when the rate becomes less than the commercial rate the artificial lift method will be used
to overcome losses in reservoir pressure.
Electrical submersible pump (ESP) is one of the most efficient artificial lift methods used in the oil
industry for lifting moderate to high volume of fluids from wellbores to surface, proper sizing and selecting
of the ESP system mainly depends on accurate data especially that pertaining to the well’s capacity, if the
given data is not accurate then the design will usually be marginal and lead to premature failure.
Here we present cases of premature failures in electrical submersible pump (ESP) system due to natural
flow and suggest approaches to minimize the effects of natural flow on the ESP system.
Natural flow was the root cause of premature failure with direct impact on ESP components for fourteen
wells, and the effect of natural flow on ESP components has been classified into two cases:
▪ ESP pump failure due to the natural flow force.
▪ ESP power cable failure due to Erosion/Corrosion.
Using Dismantle, Inspection and Failure Analysis (DIFA) reports and history of target wells in this study,
we will analyze the data for each case separately to get conclusions and recommendations to deal with the
effects of natural flow on ESP components.
In the first case, diverting oil flow through ESP system while the well is naturally flowing might damage
internal components of the ESP pump in case the flow rate is more than capacity of the pump, or even
keeping the pump running out of recommended operating range (ROR) will lead to pump premature failure.
In the second case in harsh environments like natural flowing wells with high amount of free gases and
corrosive due to sour gases, the right selection of ESP cable is critical and the proper choice of its type in
many cases has a direct impact on the life of the ESP installation, which will be proven in the conclusion
of the second case.
2 IPTC-19863-Abstract

Based on the conclusions for each case, this paper will provide recommendations to minimize the effects
of natural flow on ESP system to avoid premature failures for such cases.

Introduction
Getting accurate data specially for a new drilled wells is a difficult task because many factors are governing
the flow of fluids in the reservoir, therefore, almost in all cases in this paper the predicted results and the
actual data were not matched.
Installing ESP in flowing wells without any precautions for sizing and selecting proper equipment will
lead to premature failures either due to unexpected high pressure and flow from the reservoir, or due to the
selected metallurgy of equipment is not proper to deal with such harsh environment.
Based on premature failures database and summary of DIFA reports as shown in Table-1, Fourteen wells
failed due to direct impact of natural flow on ESP components, where the natural flow was the root cause
of failures.

Table 1—Summary of Failures Due to natural flow

Equipment
Target DIFA Failed
Well Run Life ERL% Failure Sub Category
Run Life Component
(ERL)

Well1 1000 322 32% High Flow Pump

Well2 1000 624 62% Corrosion Cable

Well3 700 402 57% High Flow Pump

Well4 1000 170 17% erosion/corrosion Cable

Well5 1000 746 75% Corrosion Cable

Well6 1000 137 14% erosion/corrosion Cable

Well7 1000 871 87% Corrosion Cable

Well8 1000 209 21% Corrosion Cable

Well9 1000 307 31% Corrosion Cable

Well10 1000 133 13% Corrosion Cable

Well11 1000 45 5% Corrosion Cable

Well12 1000 265 27% Corrosion Cable

Well13 1000 53 5% erosion/corrosion Cable

Well14 1000 479 48% Corrosion Cable

Table.1 is shown the failed components in ESP system. Mainly two components were effected by natural
flow, ESP power cable with the largest share 86% from total premature failures and ESP pump with 14%
as shown in Chart.1, so based on the failed equipment we will divide this paper into two cases:
1. Pump Failure due to natural flow force (High Flow)
2. ESP power cable failure due to Erosion/Corrosion
IPTC-19863-Abstract 3

Chart.1—Failed components in ESP system due to natural flow

Conclusion and recommendations for both cases will be mentioned at the end of each case.

Case1 (ESP Pump Failure)

ESP Pump Overview
The heart of the ESP is the centrifugal pump, comes with multistage design and the number of stages depends
on the application requirement.
ESP Pump is a machine that moves fluid by spinning it among a rotating impeller, the impeller is fixed
to shaft of the pump and it has a central inlet and a tangential outlet and rotates inside a stationery diffuser
Fig.2, the path of the fluid is increasing spiral from the inlet to the outlet of the impeller, from where it
passes to the diffuser.

Figure 2—Diffuser and Impeller of one stag in ESP pump

The fluid pressure (head) develops against the inside wall of the diffuser as the curved impeller vane
forces the fluid to move in a circular path. The velocity "head" of the fluid is converted to potential energy
in the fluid as shown in Fig.3. Overall, the pumps main function is to lift liquid from one level to another.
In oil industry applications the pumps function is to move fluid (either oil or water or both) from a well
formation to surface.
4 IPTC-19863-Abstract

Figure 3—Flow path in pump stage

The performance of ESP pump is characterized by the pump performance curves. These curves are
experimentally obtained using freshwater under controlled conditions. at an operating temperature of 60°F.
Tests on submersible pumps are made by driving the pump at a constant rotational speed, usually 3,500
RPM for 60 Hz service, the sample curves shown in Fig.4 represent the performance of one stage of a given
pump model. Pump performance curves include the head developed, the power required and the efficiency
of the pump, all in the function of the pump rate.

Figure 4—Pump performance curve

Manufacturers recommended operating range of given pump curve will be highlighted with dark area on
the pump performance curve, it shows the range in which the pump can be reliably operated. The left edge
of the area is the minimum operating point where the pump will operate on down thrust condition, and the
right edge is the maximum operating point and pump will operate on up thrust condition.
Best Efficiency Point (BEP) identifies an operating region or point along the pump performance curve,
where the pump operates at the optimum efficiency for a given impeller diameter. Pump should operate at
or near its best efficiency point (BEP) flow rate in order to avoid premature failure.
In case1, two wells failed due to natural flow impact directly on ESP at high flow rate, the pump was
running in up thrust region, this has effect the pump internal components and lead for premature failure.
IPTC-19863-Abstract 5

Well1 History
Well1 was received as a new drilled well with estimated production rate 1000-1500 Bbl/D, it was installed
and commissioned successfully and had been closed waiting for gathering centre (GC) line for 20 days,
when the GC line was ready, the request was sent to start up the pump to GC, and as start up procedure,
before starting up the ESP pump, wellhead and casing valves opened and found well was flowing naturally
with good flow from both tubing and casing, so the pump was kept shutdown, and well flow naturally to GC.
Production test was performed after 32 days from starting the well flow naturally to GC, and less
production from tubing was recorded with 345 Bbl/D only and good production from casing see Table.2.
Eight months later from the last production test, a request was sent to start up the ESP pump in order to
optimize the production of the subject well, the pump started but was pulling low amperage with no flow
to surface from tubing, pump manually shutdown and it was started with reverse direction, but same results
occurred again, it was running with low amperage and no flow to surface, so kept it shutdown in order for
a flushing job to be performed.

Table 2—Historical production tests of Well1

Max Pump Producing From

Wellhead Downhole
Well# Test Date WC Range(BPD) Pump Status
Pressure(Psi) Rate(BPD)
@60Hz

WELL1 5-Jan-15 167 3% 422 2300 PUMP OFF Tubing

WELL1 5-Jan-15 167 4% 3551 2300 PUMP OFF Casing + Tubing

No flow
WELL1 16-Feb-15 158 3% 2813 2300 PUMP OFF
from tubing

No flow
WELL1 16-Feb-15 156 3% 3149 2300 PUMP OFF
from tubing

Flushing job performed with holding pressure 700Psi and no backspin, pump started again after flushing
job without any progress in its performance still pulling low amperage and no flow to surface. Therefore,
well was declared as mechanical failure.
DIFA was performed for the subjected pump and found that the first impeller from the base was broken,
with severe up-thrust wear observed on two stages from the base of the pump and all other stages were stuck.
Pump shaft was stuck and pushed up around three inches and worn from the bottom spline edge and snap
ring was broken see below photos.
From failure dismantle report it was clear that the pump was suffering from a high force applied on first
impeller from the base, due to extremely high production rate more than the capacity of the pump, which
lead to damaging the internal component of the pump.
6 IPTC-19863-Abstract

Conclusion
Pump was installed and commissioned successfully, then well was closed from both sides tubing and casing
for a 20 days in order to prepare the gathering centre (GC) line. High pressure was accumulated inside
Annulus of the well and once the GC line was ready, both valves were opened at the same time which lead
the extreme high flow to pass through the ESP pump and cause severe damage in the internal components
of the pump as shown in above photos.

Well3 History
Well3 was received as a new well with desired rate 2000 Bbl/D, pump was installed and commissioned
successfully, 2 weeks later from commissioning date a request was sent from client to start up the pump,
before starting the pump both casing and tubing valves were opened, and found well is flowing naturally,
so pump not started and kept shutdown as natural flowing to GC.
Next day another request was sent to start up the pump while the well is naturally flowing, pump started
and kept running and flowing to GC without production test for more than a month till the pump tripped on
high flow line alarm, and had been kept shutdown as natural flow for one year, during natural flow period
few trails to start up the pump during production test but each time pump started found it was running in
IPTC-19863-Abstract 7

server up thrust condition, another request was sent to start up the pump again, pump was started and it
was pulling low amperage with no flow to surface and continuous trips on underload therefore, well was
declared as mechanical failure.

Table 3—Production Test History of Well3

Wellhead Down Hole Pump Range

Well Test Date Water Cut Pump Status Comments
Pressure(Psi) Rate (BPD) (BPD)

Well3 26-Jun-12 322 0% 3907 2000-3830 PUMP OFF

Well3 18-Oct-12 547 0% 3010 2000-3830 PUMP OFF

Well3 18-Oct-12 569 0% 5364 2000-3830 PUMP ON Sever Up thrust

Well3 18-Oct-12 607 0% 5021 2000-3830 PUMP ON Sever Up thrust

Well3 18-Oct-12 776 0% 3661 2000-3830 PUMP ON in Range

Well3 30-Dec-12 525 0% 2636 2000-3830 PUMP OFF

Well3 30-Dec-12 565 0% 5398 2000-3830 PUMP ON Sever Up thrust

Well3 26-May-13 352 0% 4897 2000-3830 PUMP OFF

No change in production
Well3 26-May-13 353 0% 4880 2000-3830 PUMP ON
after start up ESP pump

After pull-out DIFA was performed and found pump shaft pushed up with no engagement with the
coupling. It was also found that sings of heavy upward pushing by fluids on the first diffuser from bottom
and one spacer was missing.

Conclusion. Pump was started while the well was naturally flowing, it was running for 35 days without any
production test to evaluate the pump performance. based on production tests which was performed during
the life cycle of the well it was recognized that the pump was running on severe up thrust once the pump
switched on. The same was repeated with each production test performed, where the well was naturally
8 IPTC-19863-Abstract

flowing and the pump was running in up thrust condition. Then it was finally decided to shut pump down
and keep the well flow naturally.
Keeping the pump running on severe up thrust will lead to damaging the internal components of the pump.
Recommendations:

• Before starting the pump, make sure that both casing and tubing valves are closed. Then first start
opening the casing valve slowly to avoid sudden decompression on ESP cable or lower pigtail (if
used). Keep bleeding the casing pressure for a while before opening the tubing valves.
• Open tubing valve slowly and check from sample point, if well is naturally following from tubing
then keep tubing valve closed and never open it without production test.
• if the desired production rate is not enough and decided to start up the pump to optimize oil
production, never start the pump without production test facility to ensure the pump running in
recommended range.
• Before start the pump keep choke on minimum size to ensure flow rate through ESP pump at
the minimum rate then based on production result choke will be adjusted to keep pump running
in recommended operation range or keep pump shutdown in case production rate out of pump
recommended operating range.
• In case well has natural flow history, then installing Tubing Drain Valve is a solution to protect
ESP pump from high natural flow while the pump is off, (TDVs) are installed above the pump
protecting against damage. Any natural flow to surface is rerouted around the non-operational
pump. On pump start up, annular ports pilot to the closed position. Production flows to the tubing
with the unique valve mechanism preventing recirculation.

Case2 (ESP Cable Failure)

ESP Cable Overview. Main function of ESP power cable is to transmit electric power through three phase
of conductors from the power source at surface to the ESP motor.
The right selection of ESP cable is critical and the proper choice of its type and size in many cases has
a direct impact on the life of the ESP installation. From failure database Table.1, twelve premature failures
out of fourteen, due to the wrong selection of ESP cable which was based on the well data sheets provided
during selecting and sizing the ESP equipment.
Cable configuration. The configuration of ESP power cable either flat or round, each one of them has
different size based on conductor size and each size has different types for different operating condition.
Flat Configuration. The typical construction and geometry of the ESP flat power cable is shown in Fig.5.
with three conductors laying parallel with armor wrapped around them and conductors are isolated from
armor by different layers of insulation depending on the application of the ESP cable, flat cable providing
a lower profile when the clearance between the casing inside diameter (ID) and production-tubing outside
diameter (OD) is limited.
IPTC-19863-Abstract 9

Figure 5—Flat cable

Round Configuration. Round cable is superior to flat cable because it provides more mechanical protection
to the conductors. Its typical construction and geometry are shown in Fig.6 Round cable provides superior
containment to the cable conductors, which give the round cable better withstand decompression and oil
swell forces without damage. Because the space between the insulation and cable armor is filled with jacket
material so the pressure is naturally contained in a round shape, so the cable armor acts to prevent any
insulation expansion because of oil swell or gas-decompression expansion.

Figure 6—Round Cable

Cable Construction. The cable construction is mainly consisting of:

• Three phase conductors

• Insulation

• Insulation protective layers

• Jacket

• Armor

Conductor. Conductors are copper or aluminium wires that can be either a single solid configuration or
multiple smaller strands. For ESP applications, conductors have been standardized in to four sizes WAG#1,
AWG#2, AWG#4 and AWG#6.
Insulation. There are two classes of cable insulation, polypropylene and ethylene propylene diene
monomer (EPDM) synthetic rubber. Polypropylene or "poly" is coming with lower-temperature-rated
insulation, the insulation temperature rating for poly is 205°F (96°C), but it can be increased to 225°F
(107°C) with the addition of an extruded protective layer of lead. For wells with higher temperatures, then
EPDM cable will be used.
10 IPTC-19863-Abstract

Insulation protective layers. To protect cable insulations from oil swelling and gases, protective layers over
cable insulation will be applied with different types starting from lowest level of protection up to highest,
depends on ESP cables application.
Tapes and braids: Thin tapes of polyvinyl fluoride are wrapped over each EPDM-insulated conductor.
Applied the tape alone will allow oil to seep through. To make the tapes more effective, a 50% overlap
can be used. To make cable more containment, braids can be put over the tape. Common braid materials
are nylon and polyester
Lead barrier (LD): In wells that have a damaging amount of H2S gas, the copper conductors can be
attacked and destroyed. To protect insulation from sour gases, a thin layer of lead is applied over the
insulation. For poly insulation, the lead layer increases the maximum operating temperature. For EPDM
insulation, a tape or a braid is placed over the lead to minimize distortion of the lead during armoring. This
step is not required for poly insulation, because it is harder enough to distort during the armoring process.
Jacket. The main function of the jacket is to protect the insulation from mechanical damage, in round
cable the space between the conductor’s insulations and the inside of the armor is filled with Jacket so
that the armor can effectively contain the whole cable from oil and decompression swelling, Typical jacket
materials include nitrile and EPDM rubber. Nitrile rubber has an operating temperature of 280°F (138°C)
and is very resistant to oil swelling. As discussed above, the EPDM rubber’s properties can be varied by its
compounding but is rated up to 400°F (205°C), and it swells in oil.
Armor. The metal armor that is the outer covering the three insulated conductors in flat cable or the
jacketed conductors in round cable has a primary function of providing mechanical protection to the
insulated conductors during installation and pullout of ESP system. On round cable, it has added function
of providing additional containment protection for jacket and cable insulation from oil swelling and gas
decompression. The armor is usually made of mild galvanized steel, which is applicable to non-corrosive
wells. The galvanized (GLV) armor is usually offered in several thicknesses, which increases the mechanical
and corrosion protection. In more-corrosive applications, specialty metals are available, such as stainless
steel, Monel (MNL) and other alloys.
ESP Cable Failures. The failed component in the target wells in this study was Round cable with EPDM
insulation and Galvanize armor with tape or braids as an insulation protective layer, tap or braids layer were
not enough to protect the EDPM insulation and conductors from gas ingression and corrosion.
The common factor for all failures was corrosion and erosion of cable armor which lead to compromised
the EPDM jacket and cable insulation due to gas decompression which lead to cable failure.
Below photos shown the effect of corrosion and erosion on ESP power cables pulled from same wells
IPTC-19863-Abstract 11

As a corrective action to avoid effect of corrosion, erosion and gas ingression on ESP cable for the second
life cycle, the ESP cable was installed with insulation protective layer Lead barrier (LD) to protect the cable
insulation and conductors form gas ingression and corrosion, then the run life of ESP has been improved
see Chart.2
12 IPTC-19863-Abstract

Chart 2—Comparing between both life cycles.

Out of twelve wells four wells had failed again three of them due to the production tubing attacked by
corrosion and only one failed due to motor failure Table.4.

Table 4—Comparison between first and second life cycle.

Life Cycle 1 Life Cycle 2

Running Pullout Running/ Running Failure

Well Failed Component Cable Used
Days Reason Failure Days Reason

Electrical AWG#4 RND EPDM GLV AWG#2RND MNL LD Electrical Solids /

Well2 624 493
Failure 5KVA 5KV FAILURE Motor failed

Electrical AWG#4 RND EPDM GLV AWG#2FLAT GLV LD

Well4 170 RUNNING 1072 Running
Failure 5KVA 5KC

Electrical AWG#4 RND EPDM GLV Installed by another Not Not Not
Well5 746
Failure 5KVA contractor Available Available Available

Electrical AWG#4 RND EPDM GLV AWG#4 RND MNL LD Mechanical Hole in
Well6 137 250
Failure 5KVA 5KV Failure tubing

Electrical AWG#4 RND EPDM GLV Mechanical Hole in

Well7 871 AWG#2 FLT MNL LD 5KV 342
Failure 5KVA Failure tubing

Electrical AWG#4 RND EPDM GLV AWG#2RND MNL LD

Well8 209 Workover 190 Zone transfer
Failure 5KVA 5KV

Electrical AWG#4 RND EPDM GLV AWG#1 FLAT LD GLV

Well9 307 RUNNING 1090 Running
Failure 5KVA 5KV

Electrical AWG#4 RND EPDM GLV AWG#2 FLAT LD GLV

Well10 133 RUNNING 1149 Running
Failure 5KVA 5KV

Electrical AWG#4 RND EPDM GLV AWG#4 FLAT LD GLV

Well11 45 RUNNING 1279 Running
Failure 5KVA 5KV

Electrical AWG#4 RND EPDM GLV Wellhead

Well12 265 2RND MNL LD Workover 658
Failure 5KVA leakage

Electrical AWG#4 RND EPDM GLV 4RND MNL LD + 2FLAT Mechanical Hole in
Well13 53 491
Failure 5KVA GLV LD Failure tubing

Electrical AWG#4 RND EPDM GLV AWG#4 RND MNL LD Water

Well14 479 Workover 355
Failure 5KVA 5KV Shutoff
IPTC-19863-Abstract 13

Conclusion. Table.4 shown the life cycle2 of the wells pulled due to ESP power cable failure, in life cycle2
after installing the ESP power cable with insulation protective layer Lead barrier(LD), none of the them
failed again due to power cable.
Recommendations.

• ESP power cable with insulation protective layer Lead barrier(LD) to be selected for natural flow
wells, and for corrosive wells with high free gases.
• Lead tapes or lead sheets with soldering to be used in cable to cable splice, be sure no voids or
pin holes exist in the solder.
• Lower pigtail in case molded penetrators used recommended to be with insulation protective layer
lead barrier as well.
• Corrosion resistance equipment to be installed including production tubing.

• Install capillary tube to continuously transmitting corrosion inhibitors to minimize the problems
encountered by corrosive environment.

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