Doc. dr. Simon Oman, univ. dipl. inž., prof. dr. Marko Nagode, univ. dipl. inž., prof. dr. Jernej Klemenc, univ. dipl. inž., dr. Aleš Gosar, univ. dipl. inž., vsi Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za strojništvo

Abstract:
With the ability to drill to ever greater depths, new opportunities for oil production have emerged. It is estimated that currently more than 90% of all oil wells require artificial lifting. Currently, relatively old technologies are used for production, which have significant drawbacks that reduce oil companies’ revenues. For this reason, major oil companies are investing in the development of new technologies to address the shortcomings. One of the major drawbacks is that a single existing technology is not capable of covering the production flows throughout the life of the well, which requires constant adjustment of the technology type to the downhole conditions, which is time consuming and very expensive. The paper demonstrates the development of a new pumping technology based on existing pumping principles, but with innovative design solutions that allow combining multiple pumping units in one pumping system. This ensures sufficient maximum flow, which can be regulated to practically zero. Due to the very demanding and specific conditions in the well, it was also necessary to find a number of technical solutions to solve partial functions. A number of prototypes have already been tested in wells at a depth of three thousand meters. The initial results are very encouraging, but the need for improvements and additions has already become clear.

Keyword:
pumps, crude oil, abrasive particles, artificial lift, pumping systems