Nodal Analysis and PROSPER Modeling
Predicting Well Performance for CO2 Injection and High-CO2-Content Production
Assign your company's CO2 injection-well and high-CO2-content production-well performance challenges to A&A, and let the high-level, seasoned nodal-analysis and PROSPER-modeling consultants of the A&A Consulting Team predict, diagnose, and optimize well performance under conditions general-purpose nodal-analysis workflows are not built to handle.
Avasthi & Associates, Inc. (A&A) is an independent petroleum engineering consulting firm. A&A does not sell nodal-analysis software, ESPs, or well-completion equipment — our only business is expert technical consulting, which means our nodal-analysis and PROSPER-modeling recommendations are never influenced by a stake in any particular software vendor or equipment manufacturer.
The high-level, seasoned consultants of the A&A Consulting Team have extensive experience conducting nodal analysis, using industry-standard nodal-analysis software (PROSPER, tNavigator, HYSYS), of CO2 injection wells in CCS/CCUS and CO2 EOR projects, as well as of production wells producing high-CO2-content fluids, using electrical submersible pumps (ESPs), in CO2 EOR projects.
What Is Nodal Analysis?
Nodal analysis is a systems-analysis technique that matches a well's inflow performance (the rate at which the reservoir can deliver fluid to the wellbore) against its outflow performance (the rate at which the wellbore, completion, and surface equipment can carry that fluid to its destination) at a common point, or “node.” Solving for the pressure and rate at which the two curves intersect predicts the well's actual performance, and lets engineers evaluate the effect of changing tubing size, completion design, artificial lift, or surface constraints before committing to a field change.
Nodal Analysis and PROSPER Modeling of CO2 Injection Wells
Nodal analysis of a CO2 injection well predicts the injection rate achievable at a given surface/wellhead injection pressure, and the corresponding bottomhole pressure, for a given tubing and completion design — the injector's equivalent of an inflow/outflow match. CO2 injection wells present specific modeling challenges general-purpose nodal-analysis workflows do not fully address, including, but not limited to:
• CO2 phase behavior — dense-phase and supercritical CO2 flow, and the risk of the fluid crossing its critical point (with a corresponding density/viscosity change) as it moves down the tubing
• Joule-Thomson (temperature) effects along the wellbore, which affect both injectivity and near-wellbore thermal/geomechanical behavior
• Injectivity-index prediction and decline, and its effect on required surface injection pressure over the life of the project
• Completion and tubing sizing to deliver the target injection rate within safe operating-pressure limits
Our consultants build and calibrate PROSPER models using appropriate CO2 PVT/equation-of-state data and multiphase-flow correlations, to give clients a reliable, field-validated prediction of injection-well performance across the life of a CCS/CCUS or CO2 EOR project.
Nodal Analysis and PROSPER Modeling of High-CO2-Content ESP Production Wells
Producing high-CO2-content fluids with an ESP — as is common in CO2 EOR projects — presents its own set of well-performance challenges, including, but not limited to:
• Free-gas interference and gas locking at the pump intake, as dissolved CO2 comes out of solution across the pump stages
• Pump-curve derating and reduced head/efficiency in gassy, CO2-rich fluids
• Corrosion and materials-compatibility considerations for ESP components in CO2-rich, and often H2S-bearing, production environments
• Selecting the appropriate ESP design (stage count, gas separator/handler, and operating envelope) for the well's specific CO2 content and GOR
Our consultants use PROSPER's ESP-modeling capability, together with appropriate gas-handling and pump-performance correlations, to predict actual well performance and help clients select and operate the right ESP for high-CO2-content production.
Related A&A Service: For A&A's full range of CO2 injection well engineering, well-integrity, and Class II/Class VI regulatory consulting services, please see A&A's CO2 Injection Wells page.
Related A&A Service: For A&A's full CO2 flooding EOR reservoir-engineering and project experience, please see A&A's CO2 Flooding EOR page.
Related A&A Service: For A&A's broader integrated asset modeling and nodal-analysis services, across all well and field types, please see A&A's Integrated Asset Modeling (IAM) page.
What A&A Delivers
A nodal-analysis and PROSPER-modeling engagement with the A&A Consulting Team is built around the practical decisions your company needs to make, including, but not limited to:
• A calibrated PROSPER model: of your CO2 injection well or high-CO2-content ESP production well
• Injection-rate and injectivity-decline predictions: across the life of your CCS/CCUS or CO2 EOR project
• ESP selection and operating-envelope recommendations: for high-CO2-content, gassy production
• Completion and tubing-sizing recommendations: to meet your target rates within safe operating limits
• Presentation-ready results: for your company's management, partners, and investors
Training & Knowledge Transfer
In addition to providing state-of-the-art consulting, the seasoned nodal-analysis and PROSPER-modeling consultants of the A&A Consulting Team also conduct customized training workshops on the following topics:
• Nodal analysis and PROSPER modeling of CO2 injection wells in CCS/CCUS or CO2 EOR projects
• Nodal analysis and PROSPER modeling of production wells producing high-CO2-content fluids, using ESPs, in CO2 EOR projects
To put the high-level, seasoned nodal-analysis and PROSPER-modeling consultants, and other subject-matter experts (SMEs), of the A&A Consulting Team to work on your company's challenging CCS/CCUS or CO2 EOR projects, please contact us (Contact@AvasthiConsulting.com) or click here.
