OTC-24752-MS

Coiled Tubing Deployed Electrical Submersible Pump (CT-ESP) Application at

Offshore Operation
Hasmizah Bakar, Ivan Chee Xianlung, M Irsyaduddin M Rozali, M Zulhairi M Nadzri, Kamal Mohamad Ayad, Juhaidi
Jaafar PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd
Copyright 2014, Offshore Technology Conference
This paper was prepared for presentation at the Offshore Technology Conference Asia held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2528 March 2014.
This paper was selected for presentation by an OTC program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been reviewed by the
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ABSTRACT
T offshore field is located in north-west of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia and has been in operation for 40 years. The major
challenges faced by this field are depleted reservoir pressure, gas-lift compressor frequent interruptions and shortage of gaslift supply. Various alternative artificial lift technologies have been evaluated. Electrical Submersible Pump (ESP) was
identified to be the most operationally fitting technology to increase production, prolong field life and increase the ultimate
recovery. Historically, T field had attempted with downhole hydraulic jet pumps to lift the oil. ESP deployment via coiled
tubing (CT-ESP) was deemed the most economical due to rigless intervention and significantly shorter trip times into the
well as compared to the time taken to make up conventional jointed tubing. Within 2 years, this technology has successfully
contributed over MYR 18 million cost saving from 3 rigless workover and zero Lost Time Injury (LTI).
This paper will share the journey and lessons learnt of the project starting from technology assessment, planning to execution
phase. The experience gained during this project will be a valuable input in replicating the ESP deployment method for other
wells in this platform and for other offshore prospects in term of safety, performance, reliability and cost saving.
INTRODUCTION
After producing for almost 40 years, T field is not only facing issues related to aging facilities such as structural and well
integrity but also experiencing low reservoir pressure which is now at about 1000 -1500 psi or about one-third to half of the
initial. The oil producers couldnt flow naturally and needed artificial lift to assist their production to surface. About 80% of
the production comes from gas lifted wells. The production couldnt be improved further as the gas lift compression pressure
is only limited to 1000 psi with 2.0 MMscfd of gas lift volume. T field also had once attempted downhole hydraulic jet pump
to lift quarter of the platforms oil but the results were not encouraging. ESP was introduced and has been identified as the
ideal artificial lift to boost the production and prolong the field life here.
Based on the key success drivers of workover rig cost & availability, operating cost (OPEX), mobilization time and actual
installation time, the rigless deployment method was proposed. Alternative method of external cable CT-ESP was sought out
which only required CT injector rig to install and pull out the ESP. The production through CT will be same as jointed pipe
and no wellhead modification required.

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PROJECT PLANNING
Selection of Artificial Lift Method
Over the past 34 years of field production, Gas Lift has been the company standard mode of artificial lift. Recent shortage of
gas lift supply and frequent compressor failures has challenged the traditional production philosophy and a new mode of
accelerating the reserves is needed. After considering the matured field condition in addition to the benefit of production
assurance and acceleration, ESP was chosen as the alternative artificial lift method.
Selection of ESP Deployment Method
Extensive study was conducted to decide on the most feasible ESP deployment for offshore environment. Two main methods
were compared: jointed tubing and coiled tubing. Table 1 shows the duration and economic comparison between jointed
tubing, which requires a Hydraulic Workover Unit (HWU), and coiled tubing, which requires Coiled Tubing Unit (CTU).
Critical items such as Rig Mobilizing and Demobilizing Cost, Rig Crew availability, and the number of days required to
POOH/RIH the completion shifted the deployment preference towards CTU.
Well Selection and Platform Preparation
In order to select the right well candidate, the team came out with six (6) elements: Reservoir, Well Geometry, Platform,
Utilities/Logistic, Contracting Strategy and Execution. Reserve, reservoir characteristic, productivity index and solid
production are among the crucial items under Reservoir. ESP system consists of surface equipment which are Variable Speed
Drive (VSD), transformer, and generator. Preparations for deck space, zone classification, lifting gear and structures integrity
were carried out in parallel. Figure 1 shows the detailed workflow chart for CT-ESP candidate selection.

JOB EXECUTION
Well A was selected as candidate for CT-ESP, primarily to realize the 0.6 MMstb locked in potential after being idle for 22
years. The execution of Well A CT-ESP was not a walk in the park. From project inception in 2008 to First Oil it took more
than 3 years. Issues on reservoir, subsurface, completions, contract and logistics posed as the major challenges for the team to
tackle. This section will describe the endless efforts undergone by the team to make this project a success, incorporating
operational challenges and most importantly the lessons learnt for future technology replication.
2008 Well A was initially a single string jointed tubing completion with only single perforation (Figure 2). Factors such as
gas lift compressor frequent downtime and shortage of gas lift supply coupled with various well integrity issues (failed to
change gas-lift valve to lowest mandrel, sand held up in well) rendered this well unable to produce as expected and was the
main driver for Well A to be workover and recompleted with CT-ESP.
While waiting for the Coiled Tubing Unit (CTU) to arrive, the well has been successfully workover using HWU (Figure 3).
Old completion was POOH, new zone was perforated, installed sand production mitigated via IGP and well properly killed to
maintain pressure integrity. Fluid loss valve was set to prevent kill fluid from flowing into the perforation. During this
workover job, around 40,000 bbl of LCM was dumped into the well for well control.
2009/2010 Well A was completed as per Figure 1. For the first few months, well was not producing as there was no
reservoir feeding. For the next 9 months, extensive troubleshooting was conducted to identify the reason for this well not to
produce as per Table 2.
2011 The reason for non-production was identified as plugged Auto Flow Valve (AFV). In 2011, CT-ESP completion was
POOH and rerun exactly the same completion excluding the AFV (Figure 4). Production started at 200 bopd but rapidly
declined after few months production. It was suspected due to reservoir damage from previous workover operations (40,000
bbl LCM) and scale build-up from previous experience of plugged check valve and AFV & ESP retrieved covered with scale.
Non-acidic chelating agent was bullheaded through the annulus to treat scale problem downhole. Production rate maintained
was 400 - 480 bopd till to-date.

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LESSONS LEARNT
During 2008 workover, actual reservoir pressure was much lower than expected. The kill fluid density was
concocted as per initial pressure estimation. This caused extreme overbalance in well control fluid, resulting in
40,000 bbl LCM pumped into formation. Lesson learnt: Conduct timely SGS so that proper well control fluid
weight will be used during workover operation to minimize formation damage in a depleted reservoir.
During 2009 well intervention, filtered sea water was used to kill the well. This fluid stayed in the well for more
than 1 year, which resulted in ideal breeding ground for Sulphate Reducing Bacteria (SRB) which produces H2S.
Lesson learnt: To properly treat and inhibit the seawater used for well killing.
In 2010, the problem causing Well A to not produce was identified. Unavailability of backup ESP assembly delayed
project for more than 3 months. Lesson learnt: To always check the availability of back-up equipment. Need to
impose that back-up equipment be checked and inspected regularly as per contract.
This CT-ESP project was new to us, lack of proper planning & operational experience. Lesson learnt: Single-point
responsibility contract to a reliable company whereby contractor will provide everything inclusive of surface
and subsurface ESP equipment. Must also impose technology & information transfer during job execution.
Frequent communication between all parties to ensure smooth operation. (For this case, missing critical
equipment, project execution delay)
Proper planning & understanding of requirement and limitation of platform surface facilities e.g. crane
lifting capacity, power supply.

VALUE CREATION
OPEX: Negotiation with the contractor managed to reduce CT-ESP daily rental by 5% for every 180 operational
days.
Production Increase: The well was idle for 22 years (last production in 1989 = 150 bopd) which is value equivalent
to RM 200 million production deferment. CT-ESP application resulted in 300 bopd gain and a net revenue of RM 18
million.
Time and cost saving: Since CT-ESP installation is rigless operation, it only required two (2) days for rig up and
rig down CTU compared to HWU which needs 6 days.
New Innovation: This is the first CT-ESP application by PETRONAS operation. This effort has created the inhouse technical capability in the CT-ESP technique.
Business Process Improvement: The team managed to go with Single Point Responsibility contract strategy, which
has minimized dealing with multiple contractors.

OTC-24752-MS

Table 1 Comparison between CTU and HWU for POOH and reinstallation of ESP system
Item Number

Description

CTU

Rig (HWU)

(RM million)

(RM million)

Rig Mobilizing and Demobilizing cost

1.784

3.162

Work barge mobilization cost

1.116

1.116

Daily rig cost per day

NA

0.054

Daily barge cost

0.285

0.285

Dedicated supply vessels daily rate

0.954

0.954

(3 vessels)

Number of days required (to POH/run completion)

conventional completion without ESP assembly

Number of days required for rig up

Number of days required for rig down

Rig crew

10

23

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Table 2: Detailed Troubleshooting

Date

Activity

Results

th

Dumped 250 bbls inhibited sea water into

annulus & 40 bbls through CT

There is communication between annulus and CT

which indicated that the auto flow valve (AFV) is
stuck in the down position and open to annulus.
Started the ESP for 2 hours with no sufficient
build up pressure.

th

Dumped inhibited water through annulus

and started the pump when Pi stabilized
@1500 Psi and kept unit running for 4
hours

No fluid at the surface and no sufficient pressure

build up. SD the unit manually.

28
July
2010

th

Dumped inhibited water through annulus

and started the pump when Pi stabilized
@1500 Psi and kept unit running for 4
hours

No fluid at the surface and continue to increase

frequency 1 Hz every 10 minutes until 48 Hz with
same results of no sufficient pressure build up.
SD the unit manually.

Aug - Sep
2010

Shift the AFV and back flush the pump

15
July
2010

20
July
2010

Nov 2010

Dec 2010

Bullhead diesel and inhibited sea water

through coil tubing to:

Confirm the current position of

AFV

Dissolve any greasy or sticky

material might be around intake of
the pump and in the meantime
clean the pump.

Pumped inhibited sea water through CT

and jar up AFV using wireline shifting
tools to ensure the AFV is fully open to the
tubing. By jarring up the AFV, it is
expected any blockage in the AFV path can
be removed.

Wireline confirmed shifting the AFV

and there is communication between
tubing and pump
Injected inhibited seawater into casing
and started the ESP, no fluid observed at
surface
Increased the frequency, found fluid at
surface. Stopped injection into casing,
fluid decreasing
Shutdown ESP manually

No fluid at surface. Shutdown ESP manually

No fluid at surface. Shutdown ESP manually

Figure 1 CT-ESP Candidate Selection & Workflow

OTC-24752-MS

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Figure 2: Initial Well A Completion

Figure 3: Well A completion post 2008 workover

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Figure 4: Completion Post 2011 Workover