Reduce Costs by Improving Reliability and Extending Mean Time Between Failure MTBF in a Harsh Electric Submersible Pump-Lifted Field

Abstract This paper presents a case study that includes the steps taken to improve the reliability of the artificial lift systems in a field of application. It is shown through the increase in the mean time between failures (MTBF) from 489 to 1,000 days and the decrease in the failure index from 0.47 to 0.24 over 5 years of continuous work. An important challenge in the field of study was the high number of electric submersible pump (ESP) failures over 90 failures per year which caused losses over 500 Kbbl of oil per year and required around of 65 MMUSD to recover their production through workover activities. An integrated continuous improvement approach was applied by identifying the issues, proposing solutions and measuring results. After the implementation of all the actions mentioned in this document, the MTBF was duplicated, the failure index was reduced 51% for ESP, 25% reduction in ESP-related production losses; plus 40% reduction in workover jobs which saves 26 MMUSD each year. Another benefit is reducing about 900 Tons of CO2 emissions thanks to less usage of diesel for workover jobs. This document shows three sections which summarize: 1) The initial diagnostics, 2) Actions for improvement, and 3) Results. These three sections include four areas of focus: i) Data Management, ii) Culture and Organization, iii) Technology, and iv) Processes and KPI. At the end of the document the reader will find the conclusions which show how a proper diagnostic can direct focused actions like the creation of a performance dashboard together with an organizational culture towards continuous improvement, and the associated benefits once the process is fully implemented.