Unconventional oil wells present challenges to electrical-submersible-pump (ESP) systems and can limit production potential. An artificial-sump-pumping system used in unconventional oil wells with steep decline curves and high amounts of free gas has been shown to operate reliably and economically. This paper presents a comparison of conventional ESP methods and artificial-sump systems for which free gas and gas slugs are a challenge.
Introduction
Unconventional oil wells usually have inadequate reservoir permeability. To enable a significant amount of fluid flow from the reservoir to the wellbore, the wells are drilled horizontally and multistage hydraulic fracturing is performed to expose as much reservoir to the wellbore as possible.
The long horizontal laterals create unique production challenges.
