Publications

There comes a point in the life of the well when artificial lift technologies become a necessity due to lack of required natural energy from reservoir to sustain production targets. Electrical Submersible Pump (ESP) is one such technology and is quite often commonly considered to be an optimum technology for certain wells where relatively higher production rates are desired. Traditionally, ESPs have been deployed on jointed tubing which mandates using either a rig or a heavy workover unit (HWU) to run ESPs in well. The same equipment is required again for replacement in case of an ESP failure. This presents a major challenge in terms of production deferment due to long waiting times for mobilization of these equipment as well as high intervention costs associated with them especially for remote or offshore locations. The drive to reduce these intervention costs and production deferment associated with rig and HWUs lead to consideration of Rig-less ESP deployment technology using variety of options like wireline (WL), slickline (SL) or coiled tubing (CT). These alternative technologies can significantly reduce, the waiting time –due to faster turnaround times and easy availability for rigless options and reduce intervention time - as ESP can be pulled out or run in the well much faster using WL/SL/CT unit as against jointed tubing. Moreover, since the ESP assembly process per se, is the same as conventional ESP. Downhole electrical wet-connector technology enabled ESPs to be plugged into a permanent downhole ‘docking station’ without the need of a _________________________________________________________ * Pertamina Hulu Energi Offshore North West Java ** Schlumberger rig or HWU. This paper will present the technology, challenges, and lessons learnt during the first successful installation in a pilot well located offshore in Indonesia. Keywords: ESP, Rigless ESP, Wireline retrievable ESP