SPE-169481-MS

Optimization of Multiphase Pumping Stations Based on Reliability Analysis

and Monitoring of Process Conditions at Huyapari Field - PetroPiar,
Orinoco Belt
O. Moreno Mendoza, PDVSA; S. Rivas Johnson and J. Daz Sierra, Chevron; J. Gil, PDVSA

Copyright 2014, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference held in Maracaibo, Venezuela, 2123 May
2014.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE 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 Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect
any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written
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Summary
The Huyapari field currently produces 160,000 BPD of 8.5 API extra heavy oil in cold production
method. Blending naphtha of up to 60 API to obtain finally diluted crude of about 15.2 API.
Twin-screw multiphase pumps (MPP) are responsible for transporting the fluids from the well pads to
the Centro Operacional Bare (COB), where the produced fluids are treated. The production is in charge
of 21 pumps geographically distributed in 10 multiphase pumping stations, strategically located in the
field.
In order to keep surface pressures controlled as low as possible and therefore contribute to achieve
production commitments and business plan in the JV PetroPiar, an integral monitoring methodology has
been designed. This work helps to evaluate and provide real-time recommendations for reaching optimum
operating conditions contributing to maximize daily production as well as identifying opportunities for
reliability improvements.
This monitoring program is linked to a reliability study conducted on a quarterly basis, which
contributes to the execution of the work plans of the departments supporting the operation, with focus on
reducing Lost Production Opportunity (LPO) with grater effectiveness.
The continuous evaluation and optimization of the performance of the MPP stations in real time
according to operational changes (surface pressure, diluent injection rates, diluent quality, water cuts, and
gas production rates, among others) allow for improving the reliability of this equipment and help to meet
the production plan, which is currently over 96%.
This work also describes the results from the failure analysis conducted in the last three years to
identify the main factors affecting the LPO. Additionally, the methodology to continue with the
operational performance of each MPP station and its influence in the production system of the whole field
is included.
The results of this work have shown a reduction of the LPO from 244 BPD in 2012 to 100 BPD in 2013
(annual average, reduction of 59 %). Other benefits are represented in the more effective contribution to
the management of the resources for the equipment maintenance. The identification of opportunities for
2 SPE-169481-MS

improvement based on root cause analysis has allowed for influencing on all the departments involved for
accurate decision making with regards to the surface facilities operation in the field.

Introduction
The transportation method of diluted crude oil (DCO) that prevails in the Huyapari field is the one by
multiphase pumping with equipment using twin-screw and positive displacement technology. These
equipment are vital to maintain stable production in the field, so they require continuous monitoring as
well as a robust reliability program based on prior evaluation of performance metrics, which allows
planning of preventive and predictive maintenance services. When for different circumstances these
equipment fail, production is affected considerably.
In view of this scenario, the need arises for designing a tool that allow monitoring the whole surface
production system in real time and correlate it with the metrics of performance related to the reliability
of the MPP stations in the system, in order to identify opportunities for production optimization and/or
reduction of LPO.
From the integrated perspective of Production Engineering and Reliability Engineering, this study,
conducted since 2011, has allowed for an orientation to the departments of Operations and Maintenance
to identify where they must focus their efforts to guarantee the effective management of the production
system that includes field distribution of the diluent, timely maintenance of the MPP stations that are part
of the gathering network and the proper performance of the peripheral supporting systems.

General Description
The Huyapari field is located upstate Anzotegui, in northeastern Venezuela and it is operated by the joint
venture PetroPiar (PDVSA 60%, Chevron 30%, and CVG 10%). In an area of 18 by 27 km, there are
around 507 active horizontal wells operating, located strategically in 42 well pads developed to date.
Some characteristics of the reservoir and fluids are:
Depth of field: 2300 - 3100 feet TVD
Thickness of oil sands: 20 to 80 feet
Reservoir pressure: 600 - 1000 Psia
Average flowing bottomhole pressure (Pwf): 260-500 Psia
Reservoir temperature: 116-125 F
Live oil viscosity: 2000 - 4000 cP at reservoir temperature
Oil viscosity: 7.5 - 9.5 API
Gas oil ratio (GOR): 80-2000 scf/STB
Sand content (2%)
The most appropriate method of artificial lifting used to developed this field is progressing cavity
pumping (PCP), for a current production of 160,000 BPD of extra heavy crude (EHCO), 65 MMscfd of
gas and 18,500 BPD of formation water. Normal well production ranges from 80 to 1400 BPD.
The gathering system for field production is closed and therefore uses multiphase twin screw pumping
units to transfer fluids from the well pads to the Centro Operacional Bare (COB) for its dehydration,
fiscalization and transfer to the upgrading plant. To facilitate transportation of EHCO, a dilution process
takes place at well head level in each well pad to reduce viscosity. This is done by blending EHCO and
virgin naphtha with density between 40 and 60 API, which comes from the upgrading plant and is
distributed to the field through an independent diluent network (see details in figure 1).
Normally, at the early stage of production of an extra heavy crude oil field, the initial GOR condition
of producing wells is low. For the case of the Huyapari field, the initial GOR was in the order of 80
scf/STB in 2001, and currently the average GOR is in the order of 450 scf/STB. Additionally, localized
SPE-169481-MS 3

Figure 1PetroPiars Facilities Outline

gas fronts are showing up making some wells reach even greater GORs. In some cases even above 2000
scf/STB which are localized mainly in the north-east and central area of the field.
Recent studies show that the Huyapari fields production capacity is currently limited due to the high
amount of gas (91% in volume at process conditions) in the production gathering system on arrival from
the treatment plant (Petrofac, 2011), which makes some MPP stations operate with a gas volumetric factor
(GVF) near or greater than 90%, thus affecting their performance.
The multiphase pumping technologies selected for the Huyapari field are the Twin-screw MPP type
MW 9,5 and 9,3 with a 90 pitch.
Framework and Definitions
Production optimization of the Huyapari Field is a task to be conducted on an integrated basis by the
departments of Production Engineering, Surface Facilities Engineering, Production Operations, COB
Operations, and Maintenance and Reliability.
One of the inputs to achieve the integrated multidisciplinary work was the implementation of the two
following tools:
From the events that directly affect the performance of the MPP stations and which have
potentially created a LPO, a quarterly analysis is made of the information from a reliability stand
point to identify the most frequent failure mechanism, make relevant recommendations to the
Maintenance department, which in turn prioritizes the resources to correct them.
From the process variables that are monitored in the Scada system, a pressure profile analysis is
made in the gathering network from the well heads to the COB, which allows following up on the
pressurization behavior in key field sectors both in the suction as in the discharge of the MPP
stations, depending on their geographic situation, with regards to the well pad from which they
receive production. With this information, a daily monitoring of surface conditions report is
created that helps to identify pressurized well pads, abnormal behavior in pipe sections, perfor-
4 SPE-169481-MS

Figure 2MPP Station in the Huyapari field

Figure 3Calculation of the Submergence Pressure

mance trends of MPP stations and, in particular, it helps the Operations department make the
balanced distribution of diluent through all consumption points in the field.
To understand how this objective has been achieved, a framework and some definitions are presented
that help to generally understand the methodology used to achieve the performance of joint venture
PetroPiar with production efficiency above 96%.

Maximization of the Submergence Pressure

Submergence pressure is the level of liquid above the suction of the progressing cavity pump installed in
each producer well, expressed in pressure units. It is calculated as follows:
SPE-169481-MS 5

In order to maximize the submergence pressure, the variable that can be handled at surface level is the
Tubing Pressure (PTB). This pressure is governed by the energy losses that are caused downstream in the
production network. In the case of the Huyapari field, the changes in the Tubing Pressure of each well are
affected by the performance of the MPP stations.
Once the Submergence Pressure has been maximized, Production Engineering Team has conditions to
increase speed of the PCP and thus increase production according to efficiency curve of each PCP.
Changes in the Tubing Pressure (wellhead pressure)
The variables that allow for manipulating the tubing pressure are:
Operating speed of the MPP Stations The operating speed of the MPP stations is a variable that can be
manipulated up to 1800 rpm. The changes taking place in it have high impact in the MPP stations suction
pressure and therefore on the wellhead pressure corresponding to interconnected well pads.
Efficiency of the MPP stations The MPP stations efficiency is calculated as follows:

Monitoring of that variable is vital for the maintenance plans, however, it should be said that a pump
operating at low efficiency should not necessarily be replaced as long as it has an idle capacity that helps
to compensate the drop in efficiency.
Efficiency can be negatively affected by the following causes:
High presence of formation water.
High dilution with naphtha resulting in low viscosity of the pumped blend.
Screw wear.
High presence of gas.
Emulsions.
High differential pressure, induction backflow internal2
Rate of naphtha injected to the production well pads Surface dilution of EHCO with naphtha results
in a blend with viscosities around 100 to 400 cP. This contributes to reduce the loss of energy by friction
and therefore back pressure at well head. However, high dilution can have a negative effect for the
following reasons:
Increase in pressure drop due to greater flow in the pipes.

1
Paper SPE Production & Facilities, August 1997, Pag. 159 - 164
2
Kazuyuki Egashira, SPE, Shinji Shoda, and Tetsuro Tochikawa, SPE, Japan Natl. Oil Corp., and Akinori Furukawa, Kyushu, Backflow in Twin-Screw-Type
Multiphase Pump, 36595-PA SPE Journal Paper 1998
6 SPE-169481-MS

Figure 4 Pressure trends in MPP stations and interconnected well pads

Increase in surface pressure by reduction of efficiency of the MPP stations due to internal
recirculation induced by the reduction in viscosity.
Reliability metrics
On a quarterly basis, a reliability study is updated, by which the following metrics are calculated:
LPOs due to failures inherent to the MPP stations.
Machine availability.
That way, upon identifying through this analysis the bad failure mechanism, it has been possible to
program preventive maintenance tasks with greater efficiency for the MPP stations and their peripheral
systems as frequency variators, instrument air supply, control system and power supply system.

Daily Monitoring of Process Conditions

The MPP stations are monitored in real time for the follow up of mechanical parameters and the control
of their operational variables, which are stored in a database. Measurement of the suction pressure,
discharge pressure, and the motor speed are related to the outlet pressure of the well pads that are
interconnected to each MPP station and the measurement of flow and pressure of the diluent streams that
arrive at each well pad.
The behavior trends of the process variables in the MPP stations, the pressure profile in the gathering
network and the diluent distribution in the well pads are analyzed for the last days of operation. This
analysis is created in the daily facility monitoring report and deploy to the departments of Operations,
Maintenance, and Production Engineering in order to take timely control actions.
Pressure profiles in the gathering network
Figure 4 shows in a practical and compiled way, the pressure profiles for five blocks of the Huyapari field.
In this daily report, two of those types of charts are included arranged as per the geographic distribution
of the 10 MPP stations in the field, one for five blocks of the north zone and another one for the five blocks
of the south zone. This global view of the field is quickly obtained for operational decision making, which
is easily interpreted by the engineers, supervisors, and field operators.
SPE-169481-MS 7

Figure 5Performance trends of MPP stations

For each block, there is a chart of the pressure trends of the well pad outlets and the suction pressure
of the MPP stations, including relevant comments, if required.
With this information, the following can be identified:
Stable or unstable conditions in the MPP stations.
Process stabilization time every time an MPP station shutdown takes place.
Change effect in the diluent injection rate in a well pad over the network pressure.
Magnitude of the pressure loss in the network from the well pads to the MPP stations inlet.
As per the differential pressure identified for each section in the network, identify possible
obstructions.
Infer whether there are changes in the efficiency of the MPP stations.
Identify measurement instruments in failure.
Performance of MPP stations
Figure 5 shows the section of the daily report that includes in a compiled manner the performance trends
of the MPP stations.
For each block, there is a chart for the motor speed trend (above) and the suction pressure and discharge
trends (below) for the 10 MPP stations, including relevant comments, if required.
With this information, the following can be identified:
Limitations in the capacity of the MPP stations when operating at maximum speed.
Each equipments control scheme, regulating by suction pressure or by motor speed.
The number of units in operation and the ones as backup.
Downtime of an MPP station, whether by failure or by maintenance tasks.
Change effect in the motor speed over the suction pressure.
Magnitude of differential pressure in the equipment.
Identify measurement instruments in failure.
Diluent distribution in the field
Figure 6 shows the section of the daily report that includes in a compiled manner the behavior trends of
the diluent distribution network in the field.
8 SPE-169481-MS

Figure 6 Diluent distribution trends

Figure 7Work flow of daily monitoring of well production and surface conditions

For each block, there is a chart of the diluent injection pressure trend (above) and the diluent flow rates
trends (below) for the well pads associated to each MPP station, including relevant comments if required.
With this view, it becomes easier to make dynamic balances to all users in the diluent distribution.
With this information, the following can be identified:
The pressure profile in the diluent distribution network from the north to the farther south well
pads.
SPE-169481-MS 9

Figure 8 Normalized LPO by MPP Station (2011, 2012, and 2013)

Figure 9 LPO Evolution, years 2011, 2012 and 2013

The most adequate injection rate for each well pad, depending on the wells in operation.
Well pad shaving excess or deficiency of diluent according to their normal requirements.
Identify imbalances in the distribution of diluents between different field zones.
Identify measurement instruments in failure.

Integration of the Surface Monitoring to the Well Production Monitoring

From the analysis of the surface monitoring information, the best decisions are made to contribute to
production maximization. The ones responsible for operational control proceed to manipulate the speed
and suction pressure parameters in the MPP stations to keep the pressure at the well heads of all well pads
as low as possible.
Integrated to the continuous well monitoring shown in Figure 7, the surface monitoring report
contributes to create the alerts to Production Engineers regarding the field areas that may have pressure
restrictions towards certain well pads, which directly affects the submergence pressure in the wells and
the efficiency of the PCP pumping systems in subsurface.
Additionally, this information helps to give failure alerts about events in the MPP stations that might
have created overpressures in the network and strong fluctuations in the well head pressure. These surface
10 SPE-169481-MS

Figure 10 LPO by MPP station as per failure mode

Figure 11Monthly accrued LPO (2011, 2012, and 2013)

SPE-169481-MS 11

Figure 12Impact prioritized in the LPO as per failure mode

pressure changes are transmitted to the discharge of the bottomhole PCP and affect the integrity of this
equipment, causing deterioration in the elastomer and premature failures.
Reliability Study, Presentation of Results Years 2011, 2012 and 2013
This study aims to analyze and solve the failures that occur at the MPP stations of the Huyapari Field to
minimize LPO. The study is fundamentally based of the processing of information coming from the event
logs prepared by the control room staff of the Centro Operacional Bare (COB). The analyzed time
period covers January of 2011 towards the end of December of 2013, with the results with greater
relevance being:
In general terms, due to failures in the MPP stations in 2011, a production of 135 BPD was deferred,
while in 2012 the LPO of this equipment rose to 244 BPD. That is a 179% increase in production losses.
12 SPE-169481-MS

Once the methodology of analysis object of this study was implemented, the prioritized recommendations
that resulted in maintenance actions in 2013 helped to once again reduce the LPO to 100 BPD for better
performance of the MPP stations.
For year 2013, the main cause of LPO for nonscheduled shutdowns of MPP stations was due to failures
in the frequency variators, followed by failures for low pressure in the seals due to losses in the supply
of diluent for issues in the pumps located at the COB (secondary failure) and communication failures in
the control system.
As per the high temperature failures in the power houses, a slight improvement has been noticed thanks
to the air conditioning maintenance campaign. However, hard work must continue to reduce to a minimum
the LPO associated to such failure.
The MPP stations were severely affected in 2012 in the integrity of their twin-screws due to sand
production. In 2013 they look less impacted, with the exception of MPP I3. This result has been achieved
by continuous monitoring and control in the production of sand through identification of wells with this
issue and the adjustment of their operational parameters. Meanwhile, the Reliability department has
replaced the mechanical seals by some of different geometry that minimize the mechanical erosion for the
presence of solids, thus increasing the run life of the seals and reducing nonscheduled shutdowns due to
their leaking.
It has been observed that the trends in the reduction of LPO due to fewer failures in the air conditioning
system of power houses and instrument air systems are the result of greater dedication of resources for
preventive maintenance in these peripheral systems. Continue supporting the performance of these
prioritized tasks was suggested, especially for stations MPP I3, E5, and J4.

Conclusions
Through daily monitoring of process variables of the production network integrated
to the quarterly reliability evaluation of MPP stations a production efficiency of the
Huyapari field has been maintained over 96%, reaching a world class goal.
The methodology applied for the reliability analysis has helped to timely diagnose
the failure mechanism in the MPP stations to plan in advance the required main-
tenance tasks, reducing the LPO for nonscheduled shutdowns.
The volumes of LPO that are discretized as per the frequency of different types of
failure (Pareto), in addition to allowing for prioritization of maintenance, eases
optimization of the company resources for more adequate handling of inventories
and the availability of spares and consumables of the MPP such as twin-screws,
housing, filters, etc. The result has been achieving an operational availability of the
pumping equipment above 99%.
The trends analysis over the behavior of the process variables in the MPP stations
and the pressure profile in the collection network conducted in the daily monitoring
report of facilities has helped to have a global view of the field for quick operational
decision making. With this view, to make dynamic balances in the distribution of
diluent to all users and manipulate the speed and pressure suction parameters in the
MPP stations to keep well head pressure in all well pads as low as possible, thus
contributing to production maximization.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the joint venture PetroPiar for the permit to publish the results from this
SPE-169481-MS 13

study. This essay was also possible thanks to the cooperation of the departments of Operations, Production
Engineering, Reliability, and Maintenance, which are involved in the application of the methodology and
follow up of the production system in general.

Nomenclature
LPO Lost Production Opportunity, BPD
MPP Multiphase Pump
DOC Diluted Crude Oil
EHCO Extra Heavy Crude Oil
vol volumetric efficiency
overall average efficiency
global global efficiency
QT total flow rate, BPD, gpm
QN nominal flow rate in the MPP, BPD
QEHCO extra heavy oil flow rate, BPD
QG,STD gas rate at standard conditions, scfd
QG gas rate at real conditions, acfd
QL oil flow rate, gpm, BPD
QNa naphtha flow rate, BPD
Qw water flow rate, BPD
NN nominal motor speed in the MPP, rpm
NOP operational motor speed in the MPP, rpm
PSTD standard pressure, Psia
POP operational pressure, Psia
PS suction pressure, Psia.
TSTD standard temperature, R
TOP operational temperature, R
GHP power to gas, KW
LHP power to liquid, KW
SHP power to brake, KW
P differential pressure in the pump, Psia

Subscript
N nominal
STD standard
Na naphtha
PCP Progressing Cavity Pump
SUM submergence
S suction
TB tubing

References
1 Paper SPE, Facilities & Production, August 1997.
2 Kazuyuki Egashira, SPE, Shinji Shoda, and Tetsuro Tochikawa, SPE, Japan Natl. Oil Corp.,
and Akinori Furukawa, Kyushu, Backflow in Twin-Screw-Type Multiphase Pump,
36595-PA SPE Journal Paper 1998.
3 Chevron Multiphase Pumps Manual pmp-en-600
14 SPE-169481-MS

4 Cornelis (Kees) Dorenbos, Dietrich Meller-Link, SPE, Axel; Jeschke, Joh. Heinr. Bor-
nemann GmbH, Sand Handling During Multiphase Operations with Twin-Screw Pumps, SPE
69846 - 2001.
5 Gonzalez R., Corpoven S.A., Two-Screw Multiphase Pump Behavior in Heavy Crude Oil,
SPE 36082 1996.
6 Dietrich Muller-Link, Bornemann Pumps Obernkirchen, Improved Oil Recovery in Mature Oil
and Gas Fields using Twin-Screw Multiphase Pumps, SPE 142839 2010.