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IPA09-E-036

PROCEEDINGS, INDONESIA PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION

Thirty-Third Annual Convention & Exhibition, May 2009
APPLICATION OF RECYCLE SYSTEM TO INHIBIT SCALE DEPOSITION AND PLUGGING
INSIDE ESP: A CASE STUDY AT MUSTIKA A-02 WELL, CNOOC SES AREA
M. A. Andromedae*
Wimbuh Nugroho*
Erry Brillyanto*

ABSTRACT
Scale is a common well problem, one which tends
to occur in the presence of differential pressure,
temperature changes, and mixing of two
incompatible types of water. In our study, the area
focused on for combatting scale is at ESP. Upon
ESP application, a differential pressure mechanism
is principally needed to drive the fluid from
reservoir to surface, and due to this mechanism,
scale is often formed and deposited on ESP,
especially at intake and pump sections; these are
preventing the fluid flow inside ESP and making the
motor work harder on heavier loads, thus shortening
the ESP run life. This paper will share the
utilization and results from the recycle system
installed at Mustika A-02. Through a recycle
system, scale combat can be conducted during ESP
running. With this system, some of the fluid
produced is injected back into the well after being
combined with scale inhibitor through a flexible
hose connected from the tubing hanger to the
production packer. This injected fluid will protect
the water from the tendency to form scale at ESP.
Observation will focus on ESP amp-chart and
phosphonates residual content record, which
indicate the effectiveness of this recycle system.
After the recycle system was applied on Mustika A02 well, the ESP run life increased from 70 days to
620 days and the amp chart showed a relatively
smooth trend compared to the pre-recycle system
which had been utilized. Based on the amp-chart
trend and Phosphonate Residual Content record, it
may be concluded that the recycle system makes a
contribution in minimizing scale deposition and
plugging inside ESP, thus prolong the ESP run life.
INTRODUCTION
CNOOC has been operating more than 400 wells,
mostly equipped with Electrical Submersible Pumps
*

CNOOC SES Ltd.

(ESP), on the South East Sumatra block since 2002.

During oil production, several well problems were
encountered, affecting ESP running and eventually
impacting on ESP run life and oil production.
Among these were sand, scale, low reservoir
pressure, and corrosion. Scale is the major problem
that causes ESP failure at Mustika field. This field
is produced from Talang Akar Formation (TAF)
sandstone at a depth of 7000 TVD, and production
ranges from 200-2000BFFD. The combination of a
low production rate, which increases ESP operating
temperature, and high reservoir temperatures
contribute to increased scale buildup tendencies of
the water produced. Scale is present at the
perforation tunnel and intake & pump section of
ESP. Scale from this well is of a Calcium
Carbonate type (Lemigas, 1991). In oil wells,
calcium carbonate precipitation is usually caused by
a pressure drop, releasing CO2 from bicarbonate
ions. When CO2 is released, the pH increases, the
solubility of dissolved carbonates decreases, and the
more soluble bicarbonate is converted to less
soluble carbonates (Allen & Roberts, 2004).
Scale combat into the perforation tunnel is executed
by utilizing a stimulation packer. This packer is
needed as a separator for one interval perforation to
another. It is expected that by separating the exist
interval, the injected scale inhibitor can go through
and react inside in each interval. If a stimulation
packer is not utilized, there will be the possibility
that the scale inhibitor pumped will go into
perforations with higher permeability; thus not all
perforations get treated. If this happens, the scale
formed inside untreated perforation tunnels will
prevent fluid flow, thus reducing the fluid rate and
affecting ESP performance. Scale combat, by
pumping scale inhibitor into the perforation tunnel,
yields various results. Several wells show an
improvement of ESP run life and others reveal
opposite results. For scale combat results that fail to
meet expectations, it is suspected that scale did not

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enter perforation tunnel signifying successful

treatment but rather ended up in the ESP
environment.
Scale combat into perforations is also executed by
pumping scale inhibitor down through a Sliding
Sleeve Door (SSD) of the tubing. This method is
much cheaper than scale combat using a stimulation
packer, but since there is the possibility that the
pumped scale inhibitor only goes through to
perforations with higher permeability, this method
is only implemented at wells with a single
perforation. The single perforation well is also
suitable for scale combat through the ESP bullhead.
Both of these methods are cheaper since we do not
need to pull and run strings, but the penetration of
the scale inhibitor wont be as deep as scale combat,
using a stimulation packer.
Other scale combat applied includes a continuous
injection scale inhibitor using stainless tube to
the bottom of ESP. All installations of this system
failed due to precipitation of the scale inhibitor, in
both the injection tube and the pump
(Kusumamulya, 1998). One explanation for this
failure was the absence of any water analysis prior
to injecting the scale inhibitor and because of this,
there is the possibility that the scale inhibitor
injected did not matched the water property
formation, and indeed contributed to a scale buildup tendency.
This paper discusses scale inhibition through
applying the recycle system at Mustika A-02 oil
well. The scale combat was exposed not only to the
perforation tunnel but also to ESP. The ESP can run
smoothly, as observed from the amperage chart.
Cumulative oil production increased since there was
an improvement in ESP run life.
METHODS
The basic practice of the recycle system is mixing
the scale inhibitor with several produced fluids prior
to injecting them into a well. With this system, the
pressure of fluid coming out of the well is used as a
driver to inject through annulus. A tee connection
with a choke is installed in the production line
between the wellhead and the test separator. The
choke is adjusted such that a portion of the
produced fluid is diverted through the recycle loop
and back into the well. As the fluid passes through
the recycle loop, a scale inhibitor is added; the
produced fluid is then injected down the annulus
through 1 flexible hose. (Kusumamulya, 1998).
Almost all wells at CNOOC are equipped with

packers. 1 flexible hose is run from the tubing

hanger to the packer. Below the packer, the mix
fluid-inhibitor will flow down and enter the ESP
through the intake, then the pump section (Figure
1). Another benefit besides scale inhibition is that
the several amounts of fluid injected back into the
well are also able to add and/ maintain the fluid
level above the intake. With this additional support,
ESP operating under a recommended rate range
could be assisted to encourage smoother running.
Samples of produced fluid mixed with scale
inhibitor are taken and Phosphonate Residual
content (PRC) is measured. Based on PRC
concentration, we can determine scale inhibitor
performance in preventing scale build-up. Based on
Lab tests held by the scale inhibitor provider, it is
known that the minimum PRC is 1ppm. Scale
inhibitor does not react with formation fluid. It only
covers and wets the fluid particles, the result of its
Interfacial Tension (IFT) ability. Through this
cover, the tendency for scale build-up from water
produced is minimized. PRC shows smaller than
1ppm indicates that the presence of scale inhibitor
injected downhole is no longer sufficient to cover
the fluid particle thus, an increased injection rate
is needed at the surface.
RESULTS
The recycle system at Mustika A-02 was installed in
Dec 2006 and after installation the ESP ran
smoothly, as can be viewed from its typical ampchart before (Figure 2) and after the recycled
system was applied (Figure 3). It shows that scale
combat by this method on this well could work as
well as expected. This was also supported by the
PRC data, which showed concentration above 1ppm
(Figure 4) and ESP run life was also improved
(Figure 5). Previous ESP run life, prior installing
recycle system on this well was 70 days and after
installing a recycle system this became 620 days. In
brief, there was almost 9 times improvement in ESP
run life. Mustika A-02 got DHP due to mechanical
causes on Aug 25, 2008. During Aug 2008, there
were no records taken for PRC, so that the scale
inhibitor performance was not observed and there
was a possibility of slow scale buildup at ESP.

CONCLUSIONS
1. The typical amp-chart revealed smooth ESP
operation after the recycle system was applied,
compared to the amp-chart before the recycle
system was applied.

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2. ESP run life increased from 70 days to 640 days

after the recycle system was applied.

the Central District Manager, Production Engineer

and offshore staff who have supported and provided
supporting data to complete this paper.

3. Mostly PRC >1ppm showing scale inhibitor is

still sufficient to inhibit scale build up.

REFERENCES

4. Failure could originate from irregular PRC

record measurement.

Allen, Thomas & Roberts, Alan. 2004. Production

Operation 2. OGCI and PetroSkills Publication

RECOMMENDATION

Central District. 2006-2008. Amp Chart Mustika A02. CNOOC SES Ltd.

1. Current ESP installation to be equipped with a

recycle system in expectation of repeating ESP
run life and obtaining a clearer view for this
application.
2. It is strongly recommended that a PRC record
be taken and measured regularly to monitor
scale inhibitor presence in the ESP intake
vicinity. If the PRC record is smaller than
1ppm, we will add the injection rate.

Central District. 2009. Chemical Status Report

CBU. CNOOC SES Ltd.
Central District. 2009. ESP POH Report CBU.
CNOOC SES Ltd.
Central District. 2009. Well Diagram CBU.
CNOOC SES Ltd.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Kusumamulya, Kurnia. 1998. Recycle System to

extend ESP Run Life (Short Story). Maxus SES Inc.

I wish to thank CNOOC SES Ltd for allowing me to

publish this paper. Also, I send grateful thanks to

LEMIGAS. 1991. XRD, SEM, and EDAX. Maxus

SES Inc

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Figure 1 - Typical Recycle System Configuration

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MUSTIKA A-2

MUSTIKA A-2

Figure 2 - Typical Amp Chart before Recycle System was Applied

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MUSTIKA A-2

MUSTIKA A-2

MUSTIKA A-2

Figure 3 - Typical Amp Chart after Recycle System was applied

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Month :

November-08
PRC CONTENT (PPM)

Well

MUSTIKA
A-02

PARAMETER

PRC min
1ppm

3-Nov08

10Nov08

17Nov08

24Nov08

2.4

2.2

4.3

3.8

Figure 4 - Phosphonate Residual Content Recording

1-Dec08

8-Dec08

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MUSTIKA
A-02
MUSTIKA
A-02
MUSTIKA
A-02
MUSTIKA
A-02
MUSTIKA
A-02
MUSTIKA
A-02
MUSTIKA
A-02
MUSTIKA
A-02
MUSTIKA
A-02

D-450

399

NR

60

7200

21-Dec-90

30-Dec-90

D-1300

304

AA

120

7119

13-Apr-91

201

31-Oct-91

R-7SSP

314

AR

80

7100

21-Dec-92

305

22-Oct-93

R-7SSP

269

AR

80

7106

23-May-94

N*

1-Jun-94

R-7SSP

269

AR

80

7103

28-Sep-94

718

N*

15-Sep-96

D-450

429

AR

60

7850

30-Jan-97

382

N*

16-Feb-98

D-440

396 ARZ

60

7845

18-Mar-98

731

N*

18-Mar-00

D-475

316 ARZ

60

7835

27-Apr-01

614

1-Jan-03

D-1750

309 ARZ 120

7835

04-Mar-04

579

N*

4-Oct-05

282

90

7850

04-Dec-05

177

30-May-06

250

90

7772

28-Jul-06

70

6-Oct-06

274 ARZ 120

7784

14-Dec-06

620

25-Aug-08

MUSTIKA
W-100
A-02
MUSTIKA
W-100
A-02
MUSTIKA DNA-02
1750

MUSTIKA A-02 ESP RUN LIFE

Figure 5 - ESP Run Life