Technology Applications Electrical Submsersible Pump Powered Injection ESPPI Systems Enable the Development of West of the Nile Egypt Assets By: Miguel Munoz and Mohamed Aboutaleb, Qarun Petroleum Company; Jeff Dwiggins, Artificial Lift Solutions Pte Ltd
A
bstract
Qarun Petroleum Company (QPC), a joint venture between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Apache Egypt, operates over 350 ESP wells in brownfields across the Egyptian Western Desert. QPC,s oil production is heavily dependent on the performance of waterfloods and artificial lift systems. In recent years, QPC entered a development campaign in the West of Nile (WON) region, an area located west of the Nile River approximately 159 kilometers from Cairo. The fertile land has ready access to irrigation and therefore long been developed as an agricultural area, surrounded by densely populated villages. Land access is restricted and operations must be conducted to ensure minimal impact to the environment. Oilfield development in WON is challenging and required alternative solutions to conventional waterflood operations. QPC engineers turned to ESP Powered Injection (ESPPI) systems as an alternative to traditional waterflooding and re-engineered the technology to overcome the operational, economic, and environmental challenges. ESP Powered Injection (ESPPI) systems utilize conventional ESPs in combination with a bypass system (Y-tool) and an injection string to provide water production and injection support from a single wellbore to one or more wells in the same injection pattern. The system eliminates the need for surface pumping, water separation, storage, and flow lines. QPC has successfully installed and presently operates nine
52 Petroleum Today - October 2019
(9) ESPPI systems in the environmentally sensitive WON region of Egypt. This paper aims to detail the specifications and functionality of ESPPI systems, main challenges and benefits derived from closed monitored installations and operational surveillance, and the economic advantage of its application for QPC.
Introduction
QPC operates the country›s second largest ESP portfolio in the Egyptian Western Desert. The company has over 350 ESP systems running at any given time across nine (9) concessions. QPC is also considered the largest waterflood company in Egypt with 85% of its fields under waterflooding with improved recoveries ranging from 10% to 35%. Fig. 1 shows QPC,s three (3) main areas of operations and waterflooding (Karama, Qarun, and Beni Suef where the WON concession is located). The WON concession, situated approximately 159 kilometers from Cairo, Egypt,s Capital, as illustrated in Fig. 2, formed an important part of QPC,s undeveloped assets. In 2011, QPC initiated a development drilling campaign in the WON after drilling the WON-C01X exploration well and proving commercially. Development plans of WON wells required waterflooding as early as possible in the life of wells to sustain production rates and commercial recoveries. The producing reservoirs were proven to be depletion drive reservoirs primarily. Initial attempts at conventional waterflooding operations proved unsuitable for the development of WON wells.
