Effective Marginal Field Production Using Electric Submersible Pump: Niger Delta Case Study

Abstract

Operators often abandon marginal field development and production to find reliable and available equipment and services to enable the field to be developed. These challenges make it difficult to produce such fields economically. This research uses industry-based simulators (PIPESIM, INTERSECT, and PETREL) to design a well-completion with an electric submersible pump (ESP) and simulate to evaluate the performance of ESP on a typical marginal oilfield. INTERSECT software was used to describe the reservoir. PIPESIM was used to design the artificial lift system of the wells (ESP), and PETREL was used to integrate the entire system for effective production optimization. Three economic indicators, Net Present Value (NPV), Profitability Index (PI), and Internal Rate of Return (IRR), were used to analyze the economic viability of these projects. The performance of the electric submersible pump (ESP) wells was simulated and compared with the performance of the natural flowing wells and the projected production forecast. The results obtained from the production forecast showed that the ESP wells provided superior oil production compared to the unassisted natural flow conditions. ESP-assisted wells increased production at an average rate of 400% of the natural flow capacity to the surface flow network. The cumulative production increase was 392% during the simulated period of 5023 days before a significant production decline occurred in the ESP's performances. The economic analysis indicated that all wells assisted with ESPs are profitable at 12%, 15%, and 20% discounted rates, representing the operator’s capital cost. All NPVs are positive, with PI greater than 1. For IRRs, the IRR values for ESP wells were observed to be between 20.1 and 45.83%, which are higher than the discounted rates of 12%, 15% and 20%. Furthermore, the study's findings offer new and exciting ways to develop and transform abandoned oilfields into productive and economically sustainable marginal oilfields.