Designing a New Artificial Lift Method Using Computational Simulation and Evolutionary Optimization

Oil exploitation has moved into deeper reservoirs with the advances in drilling techniques and thus the development of new pumping techniques has become a challenge to improve production. The positive displacement pumping system proposed in this paper is presented as an artificial lift technique. Here we present a new pumping device, its estimated operational curves through numerical simulations and a prototype of the device, denominated a Double Acting Submersible Linear Pump (SLP), which is a hydraulic system adapted for inside well operations. Design parameters used in the tests were optimized using the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm to maximize oil production while optimizing the parameters (characterstics) of the pump, such as maximum pump diameters and submersible electric motor power, pressure and volumetric displacement of the hydraulic pump. Also presented are the operating curves estimated from the numerical simulation of the power and pump modules, as well as the SLP
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and SLP
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experimental test curves in a controlled environment using the optimized parameters obtained using PSO The data obtained were compared to the computational simulations performed with the Automation Studio™ software. The SLP
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and SLP
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optimal design tests showed the importance to delimit the range of operation within which the SLP must operate, since the pipes and hydraulic components must be suitable for the flow of hydraulic oil and the production oil. The findings presented here play an important role in the production process of a fully operational SLP prototype.