Title: Convective heat transfer in centrifugal pumps lifted wells: the case of South-Eastern Europe waxy wells

Authors: Bojan Martinovic; Marija Zivkovic; Branko Grubac

Addresses: Scientific-Technological Center NIS Naftagas, Narodnog fronta 12, Novi Sad, Serbia ' Petroleum Department, Faculty of Mining and Geology, Djusina 7, Belgrade, Serbia ' PM Lucas Ltd., Ostroska 7, Kac, Serbia

Abstract: Electric submersible pumps (ESP) are applied in wells where additional energy is needed to ensure discharge of the fluid to the surface through the tubing. At the discharge side of the pump the fluid has bigger velocity, thus the pump induces a forced convection between the fluid and the tubing inner surface. Understanding of convective heat transfer in wellbores and analyses of influential parameters provides a possibility to optimise value of convective heat transfer coefficient in order to avoid well operation problems. As the total fluid is speeded up in the pump, values of Reynolds number decrease after the ESP due to effect of temperature on physical properties of fluids, so flow of the fluids after the pump is determined as laminar. The highest values of convective heat transfer coefficient are expected in zones where wax deposition may occur. [Received: August 25, 2021; Accepted: October 1, 2021]

Keywords: convective heat transfer; ESP pump; fluid properties; well operation issue.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOGCT.2022.123205

International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, 2022 Vol.30 No.3, pp.229 - 249

Received: 20 Aug 2021
Accepted: 01 Oct 2021
Published online: 01 Jun 2022 *

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