Role of Electrical Submerged Pumps in Enabling Asphaltene-Stabilized Emulsions

Abstract

Many oilfield development projects require artificial lift systems, i.e., methods to enhance well fluid production that are needed when the reservoir pressure is too low to allow for the produced fluid to reach the surface. Such an approach is of particular interest for mature oilfields (such as those in the Middle East and North Africa) and for many of the upcoming deepwater and ultra-deepwater fields under development around the world. Artificial lifting can be achieved by gas lifting or through a pump installed into the well. For subsea downhole applications, a progressive cavity pump (PCP) or (centrifugal) electrical submersible pump (ESP) is employed. ESP systems are having, in particular, wide spreading, essentially as a result of the good efficiencies and high rates and depth. In search of means for maximizing the productivity of each well that sometimes leads to looking for producing the maximum in the shortest possible time, these pumps are seen as a sort of panacea. In this work, a dangerous pos...