Challenge: Restart a Trintes Field well without causing an electrical or mechanical failure in the ESP, which would necessitate a well intervention operation
Solution: Use LiftWatcher™ real-time surveillance service and technical support from Artificial Lift Surveillance Center (ALSC) team to preserve ESP integrity while restarting the well
Results:
In the Trintes Field, Trinity Exploration & Production (Trinity) experienced an unexpected shutdown in one of its wells due to platform generator issues. After many restart attempts, the motor winding temperature increased rapidly, and high startup amperage consumption was causing the breaker to trip. The well had a high gas presence, and it was found that sand and solids were falling back in the pump and plugging the impellers, causing the amperage consumption and motor temperature to increase upon restart. The solids accumulation, temperature increase, and amperage consumption put the ESP at risk of failure, and replacing the ESP would require a costly and time-consuming well intervention operation.
The ALSC used the LiftWatcher service during the troubleshooting operation to avoid any mechanical or electrical failure in the ESP. With startup constraints that included high amperage, high horsepower and torque consumption, and high temperatures, the surveillance optimization team sent a technical alert with the following recommendations to avoid any mechanical or electrical failure in the ESP:
While these actions were taken, the ALSC continued to monitor the BHA integrity and ESP function.
After the technical recommendations were applied, the well successfully started up with no mechanical or electrical failure. The ESP's integrity was preserved, avoiding a well intervention that would have cost approximately USD 170,000.
