Increasing Run Life by Using Multiple Preventive Downhole Pump (MPDT) to Overcome Gas Interference and Sand Problem on Sucker Rod Pump Well

Rantau is a mature oil field located in Aceh, Indonesia, which has been producing oil since 1928 and reached the peak production in 1970s. The reservoir in Rantau field is already depleted so it needs artificial lift to produce the oil. About 71% of artificial used in Rantau are sucker rod pump (SRP), 26% are electric submersible pump (ESP), and others remaining are gas lift. To maintain production with a high decline rate efficiently gets more challenging with the downhole problem, especially gas interference dan sand problem. In 2020, 78% of well services came from artificial lift wells with sucker rod pumps. The data said that sand problem with gas interference became dominant causes in 74% of the cases. To solve those issues with the limitation of cost and maximizing the effect, modification of tubing pump accessories was chosen. Multiple Preventive Downhole Pump (MPDT) is a modified tubing pump accessory that has seven stages to minimize sand production and separate the associate gas while the fluid was pumping into the surface. The sand separation was effective enough to prevent a huge amount of sand and gas from the reservoir infiltrating the pump assembly, so the sand could not produce to the surface or blocking the standing or traveling valve and gas pound could not occur. The four wells installed with MPDT could exceed their previous run life more than five times. This brings impact on the less well service activity in those wells and for Rantau field in general. During the observation, the fluid sample taken from the wellhead showed no sand to a small amount of sand produced, as the wells produced a small amount to no sand at all we could optimize its parameter to achieve more oil, while when the well produced a huge amount of sand, its parameter could not be optimized or increased which could lead to more sand produced to the surface. In conclusion, well that installed with MPDT become more efficient contributed by longer run life which led to less well service work and increased oil production where its parameter could be optimized. MPDT could prevent reservoir sand getting into the tubing pump, as well as the gas. It is a practical solution for mature oil fields that encounter sand problems as a common challenge in producing oil.