Methodology for calculating the optimal operating cycles of an oil well under intermittent mode taking into account the acceleration and shutdown phases of the electric submersible pump

UDK: 622.276.53.054.23:621.67-83

DOI: 10.24887/0028-2448-2025-12-92-96

Key words: periodic short-term activation cycle, unsteady regimes of oil wells, mathematical modeling, gradual approach of electric submersible pump (ESP) production time, accumulation time

Authors: E.V. Yudin (Gazprom Neft Companу Group, RF, Saint Petersburg); V.A. Shishulin (Gubkin University, RF, Moscow); I.V. Grigorev (Gubkin University, RF, Moscow; Research and Education Center «Gazprom Neft-UGNTU», RF, Ufa); I.V. Gavrilov (Gubkin University, RF, Moscow; Research and Education Center «Gazprom Neft-UGNTU», RF, Ufa); M.V. Verbitsky (Gubkin University, RF, Moscow); V.A. Migunov (Gubkin University, RF, Moscow); B.M. Latypov (Ufa State Petroleum Technological University, RF, Ufa); V.E. Chernyshov (Association «Digital technologies in industry», RF, Saint Petersburg); M.D. Shabunin (Research and Education Center «Gazprom Neft-UGNTU», RF, Ufa)

Many oil fields in Russia have entered the final stages of development, accompanied by an increase in water cut, declining flow rates, inflow instability, and the development of a gas-oil ratio. Additional mechanical impurity removal, periodic gas locks, and compliance with electric submersible pump (ESP) operating conditions are required. Under these conditions, switching producing wells to intermittent sequential operation (ISO) is becoming one of the most effective approaches for maintaining stable growth. ISO enables the pump to operate at higher efficiency, reduces the impact of free gas, and lowers the risk of gas lock-in, creating more stable hydrodynamic conditions compared to continuous operation. The methods used to calculate ISO modes have some limitations. Many engineering approaches neglect the acceleration and deceleration stages of the ESP, although at short stages of the cycle, these phenomena significantly reduce the unit's productivity. Non-stationary inflow patterns, dynamic head changes, and the impact of free gas-induced pumping performance degradation are rarely observed. This paper proposes an improved methodology for determining optimal ISO parameters, considering the inertial processes that cause fluid evolution and bottomhole pressure changes during each phase of the cycle. It is shown that correct modeling of acceleration and transient hydrodynamic processes improves the accuracy of production forecasts and improves the balance between the duration of the accumulation and pumping phases. This approach can serve as the basis for the development of digital well management tools, including the integration of equipment degradation models and adaptive system modes for ESP operation at high gas-oil ratio.

References

1. Nazarova L.N., Razrabotka neftyanykh mestorozhdeniy s trudnoizvlekaemymi zapasami (Development of oil and gas fields with hard-to-recover reserves), Moscow: Publ. of Gubkin University, 2019, 340 p.

2. Mishchenko I.T., Skvazhinnaya dobycha nefti (Oil production), Moscow: Neft’ i gaz Publ., 2003, 816 p. 

3. Kuz’min N.I., Verbitskiy V.S., Khabibullin R.A. et al., Analysis of oil wells operation parameters and modes effects on electric submersible pumps reliability (In Russ.), Neftyanoe khozyaystvo = Oil Industry, 2024, no. 12, pp. 106–111, DOI: https://doi.org/10.24887/0028-2448-2024-12-106-111

4. Салихова А.Р., Сабиров А.А., Булат А.В., The improvement technique of running efficiency for electric vane pumps in the presence of abrasive particles in extractive fluids (In Russ.), Территория Нефтегаз, 2019, no. 5, pp. 50–55.

5. Yushchenko T.S., Demin E.V., Ivanov V.A. et al., Case studies and operation features of transient multiphase flow in low-flow wells with multistage fracturing and extended horizontal wellbore operated with ESP in PSA mode (In Russ.), PROneft’. Professional’no o nefti, 2024, V. 9, no. 1(31), pp. 78–94, DOI: https://doi.org/10.51890/2587-7399-2024-9-1-78-94

6. Юдин Е.В., Моисеев К.В., Латыпов Б.М. et al., The assessment of well modeling quality for wells equipped with electrical submersible pumps operating in periodic short-term operation mode in the OLGA transient flow simulator under limited verified data and restricted telemetry availability (In Russ.), Neftyanoe khozyaystvo = Oil Industry, 2025, no. 9, pp. 66–72, DOI: https://doi.org/10.24887/0028-2448-2025-9-66-72

7. Горидько К.А., Федоров А.Э., Хабибуллин Р.А. et al., The approach to estimating gas separation in a periodic operation mode of a well equipped by an electric submersible pump. Part 1 (In Russ.), Нефтепромысловое дело, 2025, no. 6(678), pp. 36–47.

8. Ivanov V.A., Verbitskiy V.S., Khabibullin R.A. et al., Experimental studies of natural separation at the intake of a submersible electric centrifugal pump (In Russ.), Delovoy zhurnal Neftegaz.RU, 2024, no. 8(152), pp. 78–84.

9. The OLGA 2022 User Manual, Version 2022, Schlumberger

10. Ivanov V.A., Khabibullin R.A., Yushenko T.S. et al., Razrabotka dinamicheskoy modeli skvazhiny v rezhime periodicheskogo kratkovremennogo vklyucheniya pogruzhnogo elektrotsentrobezhnogo nasosa (Development of a dynamic model of a well in the mode of periodic short-term switching on of a submersible electric centrifugal pump), Moscow: Publ. of Gubkin University, 2024, 89 p.

11. URL: https://www.petex.com/pe-engineering/ipm-suite/prosper/

12. URL: https://autotechnologist.com/

13. Rukovodstvo pol’zovatelya RN-ROSPUMP (RN-ROSPUMP User Manual), Moscow, 2023, URL: https://rn.digital/rospump/?ysclid=mgy57kvvkk548378977

14. Khabibullin R.A., Neftyanoy inzhiniring OLGA (Oil Engineering OLGA), URL: https://t.me/petroleum_olga

15. Virnovskiy A.S., Tateyshvili O.S., On the periodic operation of pumping wells (In Russ.), Neftyanoe khozyaystvo = Oil Industry, 1957, no. 8, pp. 40–46.

16. RD 39-1-454-80. Metodika po ekspluatatsii malodebitnykh glubinnonasosnykh skvazhin v rezhime periodicheskoy otkachki (Methodology for the operation of low-flow deep wells in the periodic pumping mode).

17. Pashali A.A., Khalfin R.S., Sil’nov D.V. et al., On the optimization of the periodic mode of well production, which is operated by submergible electric pumps in Rosneft Oil Company (In Russ.), Neftyanoe khozyaystvo = Oil Industry, 2021, no. 4, pp. 92-96, DOI: https://doi.org/10.24887/0028-2448-2021-4-92-96 

18. Abdulin I.K., Leont’ev S.A., Development of a methodology for justification of a short-term periodic mode of wells operation equipped by electric centrifugal pumps

(In Russ.), Neftepromyslovoe delo, 2022, no. 9(645), pp. 73–76, DOI: https://doi.org/10.33285/0207-2351-2022-9(645)-73-76

19. Yudin E.V., Piotrovskiy G.A., Smirnov N.A. et al., Methods and algorithms for modeling and optimizing periodic operation modes of wells equipped with electric submersible pumps (In Russ.), Neftyanoe khozyaystvo = Oil Industry, 2023, no. 5, pp. 116-122, DOI: https://doi.org/10.24887/0028-2448-2023-5-116-122

20. Kostilevskiy V.A., Shaydakov V.V., Koroleva D.A., Flow-rate calculation method for short-term well operation (In Russ.), Stroitel’stvo neftyanykh i gazovykh skvazhin na sushe i na more, 2023, no. 4(364), pp. 45–48, DOI: https://doi.org/10.33285/0130-3872-2023-4(364)-45-48