With the price of crude remaining around $30 a barrel, now more than ever it is vital that operators fully assess their artificial lift selection criteria to increase production efficiency, reduce equipment & energy costs, and mitigate failure. The Artificial Lift Optimization Congress North America 2016, coming to Houston on March 22-23, 2016, will deliver production optimization case studies to maximize production rates at minimal costs. In the lead-up to Houston, we interviewed Zach Awny, Production Engineer at ConocoPhillips, who discussed reducing lifting cost per barrel and the increased reliance of "smart" wells now and going forward.

1. DELIVERING PRODUCTION OPTIMIZATION CASE STUDIES TO MAXIMIZE PRODUCTION RATES AT MINIMAL COST
IN A SUB-$35 ENVIRONMENT
www.artificial-lift-congress-north-america.com
North America Congress 2016
Increasing Production, Optimizing Efficiencies And Further Reducing Costs
March 22 - 23, 2016 - Houston, Texas
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PRE CONFERENCE INTERVIEW:
For how long and in which companies have
you been involved in the artificial lift space?
ZA Baker Hughes for a one year period
and ConocoPhillips for four years.
In that time what is the most exciting
or innovative project that you’ve
been involved in? Can you give a brief
description?
ZA Working on challenging design
applications with compression stage ESPs
for low fluid volumes < 300 bpd.
Why is the optimization of artificial lift
operations so important in the industry
right now?
ZA Most of the wells we operate are on
some type of lift or will be at a later point
in its life. The goal of every operator is to
reduce the lifting cost per barrel of fluid
produced, while maintaining a safe working
environment.
What kind of benefits can the effective
running of artificial lift systems can
operators achieve, especially in the current
oil climate?
ZA Lower operating costs and lower
failure rates overall. This cost saving can
be used for exploration or other project
ventures and can also increase base
production, i.e. net revenue per month.
What do you see as the next major step in
artificial lift design?
ZA As an industry, we’ve already made
great strides with pump-off controllers and
variable speed drives by modulating pump
speed to match inflow performance. The
technology of “smart” wells has increased
exponentially in the last ten years and I’m
fairly certain more innovative ideas are up
ahead.
What are the main considerations in
establishing a successful chemical program
for ESP and rod pumps?
ZA It is imperative to collect fluid samples
at the well head or downhole if possible to
determine if there is a risk for scale, paraffin,
bacteria, or corrosion in the system and
address proactively.
What are you most looking forward to at
the Artificial Lift Optimization initiative?
ZA Networking with other peers and
discovering ideas on how to improve
current operation of sucker rod pumps and
submersible pumps in my field.
Can you give us a taste of the specific issues
that you will discuss at the congress?
ZA My topic will focus on the optimization
of existing chemical programs in mature
assets. The points of discussion will
include how to assess current program
performance, best industry practices for
sampling and treatment, and the benefits
of a chemical management database to
track program efficiency.
Almost all of the majors are involved in
large-scale well site automation, but what
would you say to smaller companies that
are considering an automation program?
ZA The industry as a whole is moving
towards automation, therefore it would be
in a smaller operator’s best interest to begin
well site automation as early as possible, if
only for a select group of wells with high
production or high failure frequency.
Zach Awny
Production Engineer
ConocoPhillips
The technology of “smart” wells has
increased exponentially in the last
ten years and I’m fairly certain more
innovative ideas are up ahead.
The goal of every operator is to
reduce the lifting cost per barrel of
fluid produced, while maintaining a
safe working environment.