esp stands for electric submersible pump it is a form of artificial lift that uses an electric motor to drive a multi-stage centrifugal pump to lift resources from a well in this video we'll discuss why producers choose to use an esp the components of an esp system and how it operates as well as the advantages and disadvantages compared to other forms of artificial lift artificial lift systems are used in more than 90 percent of oil wells artificial lift is used to increase production fluids and are needed when reservoirs no longer have sufficient energy to naturally produce economic rates or to boost early production in new wells they are quiet safe and only require a small surface footprint they have a wide range of pump rate operation and can accommodate changes in fluid properties and flow rates over the life of the well they're also applicable in many corrosive environments an esp system consists of multiple stages of centrifugal pumps which are connected to a submersible electric motor the motor is powered by heavy-duty cables connected to surface controls the motor rotates the shaft which is connected to the pump the spinning impellers draw in fluid through the pump intake pressurizing it and lifting it to the surface an inverted discharge design is configured the same with the exception that the pump stages are inverted to pump the fluids into the well formation from the surface this configuration is typically used for injection of water into disposal wells let's look at each component in more detail to optimize performance operators can install a downhole sensor that communicates real-time system data such as pump intake and discharge pressures temperatures and vibration typically producers monitor a pump through a scada system when it detects a pump reading that is outside of its set point a sensor alerts the operator in real time and changes can be made remotely or automatically by the surface controller the submersible pump is powered by an electric motor the size of the motor and the horsepower rating are determined by the number of stages needed to generate sufficient head pressure to lift the liquid to the surface since the size of the motor varies the overall length and diameter of the esp downhole equipment is determined by the motor size the motor temperature will increase as it operates but is cooled by the passing fluid being drawn into the pump the motor is filled with synthetic oil for electrical protection and lubrication and that also helps to evenly disperse the heat that is generated the seal chamber isolates and protects the motor from damaging well fluids and equalizes the pressure in the wellbore with the oil pressure inside the motor it also absorbs the axial thrust produced by the pump and dissipates the heat that the thrust bearing generates the shaft connects the motor to the pump impellers through the seal chamber the shaft is designed to be as small in diameter as possible without compromising its strength this allows greater volumes to pass through the pump intake the pump intake is where the well fluid enters the submersible pump and is directed into the impellers different types of intakes are used depending on the well fluid properties particularly the gas liquid ratio standard designs do not separate gas and are therefore used in wells that produce a very low gas to liquid ratio to separate gas in a well stream with relatively high glr producers use either a reverse flow or rotary pump intake in a reverse flow pump intake the produced fluid with free gas flows up the outside of the reverse flow intake screens then turns to enter through the perforations at the top of the screen it then flows down to the pump intake ports and then back up to the first pump stage these reversals and direction allow for a natural separation of the lighter gases from the liquid the separated gas travels up the casing annulus and exits the casing at the wellhead longer reversal paths can also be utilized to increase the separation of the gas from the liquids a rotary pump intake also called a dynamic gas separator uses force to help separate the gas the rotary separator works similar to a centrifuge it forces the heavier fluid to the outside and the free gas exit through the discharge ports back into the well gas separator assemblies are often connected in tandem to improve the overall efficiency in high gas applications the stages of a centrifugal pump are what increase the pressure of the fluid each stage is made up of a rotating impeller and a stationary diffuser the stages can be stacked to incrementally increase the pressure until the desired flow rate is achieved the fluid travels through a rotating impeller which increases its kinetic energy it then enters the diffuser converting the energy into potential energy which raises the discharge pressure the fluid repeats this process in each stage of the pump the operation will continue until the fluid reaches the designed discharge pressure the increase in pressure is called the total developed head of the pump the impellers are crucial to the operation of the esp because they determine the flow rate radial flow impellers have a vane angle close to 90 degrees and are usually for lower flow rates mixed flow impellers have a vane angle close to 45 degrees and are for higher flow rates the power cable delivers the required power to the esp motor from the surface it will be banded or strapped to the production tubing in intervals below the wellhead to the motor it is a specially constructed power cable made for harsh environments with a durable outermost layer impervious to physical or electrical deterioration a check valve may be threaded into the tubing a few joints above the pump it is installed to keep the tubing above the pump full of liquid when the pump is not operating surface components for the esp include electrical supply communication equipment and the esp controller the esp controller maintains the proper flow of electricity to the pump motor a variable speed drive can be either manual or automated an automated vsd reads the downhole data recorded by the scada system and adjusts the motor speed to optimize production rates the vsd allows the pump to be operated continuously or intermittently a soft start controller operates at only one speed to prevent the motor from being under a heavy load at the start it slowly brings the pump motor up to its designed operation speed and maintains that single speed here are some advantages and disadvantages to using an esp system to learn more about other types of artificial lift check out our videos on plunderlift or gas lift systems comment below with any questions or contact your local kimray store or authorized distributor [Music] you