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多年来，电潜泵 (ESP) 一直是生产油气井的常用方法。ESP 能够举升更多的液体，这使其成为一种常见的、快速增长的举升解决方案，但它也存在一些问题。 

ESP 易于使用，并且比其他类型的人工举升机可以产生更高的流体速率，特别是当井底压力 (BHP) 较低且生产率指数较高时。然而，如果在任何用沙子压裂或制砂的井上使用 ESP，则可能会因沙子和其他材料进入泵而导致更快的故障。 

水平井面临着直井所没有的问题。当流体从拐角处进入井的垂直部分时，必须抵抗重力。这种重力变化导致大部分流体落回井的水平部分。然后，井必须产生压力来克服重力，将流体移动到地面。每次循环发生时，克服重力所需的额外压力都会重新打开裂缝。 

然后，当压力足够高时，大量流体移动到地面，BHP 降低，沙子从开放裂缝中喷出，并与流体一起进入泵中。沙子会极大地降低泵的性能并影响其性能。最终，这可能会导致大容量井的运行时间非常短，有时短至部署后几周。 

由于 ESP 无法进行预防性维护，因此运营商使用分析软件来预测性能问题并规范地管理其资产至关重要。一旦 ESP 发生故障，拆除和更换它的过程将非常昂贵。

预防性资产管理意味着了解泵的运行方式和应有的运行方式，并采取措施使其恢复到最佳状态。尽管泵故障不可避免，但采取措施延长其使用寿命、最大限度地减少修井之间的时间和相关成本以及优化泵送时间可以节省工程师的时间和资源。 

理想的资产管理流程

工程师可以负责多达 1,500 口井。由于工作量很大，工程师需要帮助来正确管理这些昂贵的资产。如果没有全面的资产管理系统，就很难跟踪表现较差的油井。

在当今的环境中，供应链变得支离破碎且模糊不清，运营商不太清楚替代品何时到达。实施资产管理系统可以为操作员提供做出决策和更改（如有必要）所需的洞察力。对于监督多口井的工程师来说，这意味着查明潜在问题以减轻工程师面临的整体工作量。为了获得这种洞察力，运营商需要一个可以在多种资产上实施并提供规范操作的系统。了解出现的问题是一个很好的第一步，但接下来应该采取行动纠正或减少所述问题。 

例如，如果油井显示出快速恶化的迹象，系统可能会向操作员发出性能不佳的警报，然后它会规定操作员采取行动来改变泵送的油量和速率它正在被泵送。减慢泵送过程将延缓恶化，并使操作员有时间做出必要的安排。通过提取每口井的数据，良好的资产管理系统可以了解资产的运行情况以及未来的运行情况。然后，工程师可以根据与供应链、人员资源可用性以及执行修井所需时间相关的任何挑战来做出决策。积极规划这些变化可以显着减少油井在修井前面临的停机时间。 

一旦泵进入井中，它就会停留在那里直到发生故障。一旦发生故障，除了关闭油井、拆除损坏的泵并更换新泵外，别无选择。这种更换的修井时间可能很长，具体取决于现场位置以及钻机执行任务所需的时间。一旦到达现场，拆除井口、将管道从地下拉出并更换所有东西也可能很费力。不管修井时间有多长，修井时间是不可避免的。然而，如果计划正确，则可以显着减少相关时间和相关的潜在损失。 

实施资产管理分析 

可靠的资产管理计划可以诊断、预测和规定。ESP 产生每分钟转数、温度和用电量等数据。以预测性和规范性分析为重点的软件，例如 Lone Star Analysis 的 MaxUp Energy，可以通过考虑从原始设备制造商收集的 ESP 通常运行以保持健康的基于物理的参数来预测资产的性能。如果趋势超出这些标准，软件会规定纠正措施，使泵恢复正常运行范围。

通过插入故障模式、最有可能造成损坏的日常事件（例如电机发热或过度振动），该软件能够专门监控并报告这些事件。有价值的系统的另一个关键特征是及时性。在考虑选择时，运营商应该寻找能够提取数据并实时提供分析和诊断的软件。 

为了保持 ESP 尽可能最佳地运行，操作员应考虑添加分析程序来监控泵的运行、使用情况、条件、流量和影响泵运行的其他关键因素。一个好的计划可以预测潜在的故障，规定全面的行动，确保快速识别问题，并为操作员提供调整所需的时间。为高价值泵添加分析功能将使运营商能够充分利用其昂贵的资产，提高生产率，缩短故障时间，增加高成本修井之间的时间，并最终提高回报。

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Electric submersible pumps (ESPs) have been a popular method to produce oil and gas wells for many years. The ESP’s ability to lift a higher volume of fluid has made it a common, fast-growing lift solution, but it is not without its issues. 

ESPs are easy to use and can produce higher rates of fluid than other types of artificial lift, especially when the bottomhole pressure (BHP) is low and the productivity index is high. However, if an ESP is used on any well fracked with sand, or making sand, it can lead to faster failure due to sand and other materials making their way into the pump. 

Horizontal wells face issues that vertical wells don’t. The fluid must fight gravity as it turns the corner into the vertical section of the well. This gravitational change causes a good part of the fluid to fall back into the horizontal section of the well. The well then must build pressure to overcome gravity to move the fluid to the surface. Every time the cycle happens, the added pressure needed to overcome the gravitational pull reopens the fractures. 

Then, when the pressure builds high enough, a slug of fluid moves to the surface, the BHP lowers and sand is burped out of the open fracture and travels with the fluid into the pump. The sand vastly degrades the pump and impacts its performance. Ultimately, this can lead to very short run times for high-volume wells, sometimes as short as just a few weeks post-deployment. 

Because preventative maintenance is not an option on ESPs, it is crucial that operators use analytics software to predict performance issues and prescriptively manage their assets. Once an ESP does fail, the process for pulling and replacing it is very expensive.

Preventative asset management means understanding how a pump is operating versus how it should be and taking steps to get it back to optimal health. Although pump failure is inevitable, taking steps to extend its lifetime, minimize time and associated costs between workovers and optimize pumping time can save engineers time and resources. 

Ideal asset management process

Engineers can be responsible for as many as 1,500 wells. With high workloads, engineers need help managing these expensive assets properly. Without a comprehensive asset management system, it can be hard to keep track of poorer performing wells.

In today’s environment, where the supply chain has become fractured and vague, operators have less visibility into when replacements will arrive. Implementing an asset management system can give operators the insight needed to make decisions and changes, if necessary. For engineers overseeing multiple wells, this means pinpointing potential issues to lessen the overall workload engineers face. To gain this insight, operators need a system that can be implemented on multiple assets and provide prescriptive actions. Understanding an arising issue is an excellent first step to take, but action to correct or reduce said issue should follow. 

For example, if a well is showing signs of rapid deterioration, the system might communicate an alert of less-than-optimal performance to the operator, then it would prescribe an action for the operator to change the amount of oil being pumped and the rate at which it’s being pumped. Slowing down the pumping process will delay deterioration and give the operator time to make necessary arrangements. By pulling data in about each well, a good asset management system can see how an asset is functioning and how it might operate in the future. Engineers can then make decisions that factor in any challenges associated with the supply chain, personnel resourcing availability and the necessary time to perform workovers. Proactively planning for these changes can significantly reduce the amount of downtime a well faces prior to workovers. 

Once a pump is run into a well, it stays there until it fails. Once failure occurs, there is no other option than to shut down the well, remove the broken pump and replace it with a new one. Workover time for this changeout can be long, depending on the site location and the time it takes to get a rig out to perform its task. Once on site, it can also be laborious to remove the wellhead, pull the tubing out of the ground and replace everything. Regardless of how long it is, workover time is inevitable. The time around it and the potential losses associated, however, can be significantly reduced if planned correctly. 

Implementing asset management analytics 

A solid asset management program diagnoses, predicts and prescribes. An ESP produces data such as revolutions per minute, temperature and power usage. Predictive and prescriptive analytics-focused software, like Lone Star Analysis’ MaxUp Energy, can predict an asset’s performance by factoring in the physics-based parameters the ESP normally operates in to stay healthy, gathered from the original equipment manufacturer. If it is trending out of those norms, the software prescribes a corrective action to bring the pump back into the normal operating range.

By plugging in failure modes, everyday events most likely to cause damage, such as heat in the motor or excessive vibration, the software is able to monitor for and report against those specifically. Another key feature of a valuable system is timeliness. When considering options, operators should look for software able to pull in data and provide analytics and diagnoses in real time. 

To keep ESPs running as optimally as possible, operators should consider adding an analytics program to monitor pump operation, usage, conditions, flow rate and other key factors impacting a pump’s operation. A good program predicts potential failures, prescribes comprehensive action, ensures issues are identified rapidly and allows operators the time needed to adjust. Adding analytics capabilities to high-value pumps will enable operators to get the most out of their expensive assets, improve productivity, improve time to failure, increase the time between high-cost workovers and ultimately increase their return.