Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Aramco has announced the successful installation and functional test of its new TransCoil rigless-deployed electrical submersible pumping (ESP) system, developed in collaboration with Baker Hughes, a Texas, United States-based industrial services company.

According to a press release issued by the company, the Khurais field was chosen to be the initial field trial location for the TransCoil system, with months of pre-job planning to ensure the trial’s success. The press release informed that rigless operations to install the ESP commenced in mid-December 2016. It added that the deployment operations of the TransCoil system went smoothly and the first-time rigless operations proved efficient in reducing installation time nearly 50% over the rig-based installation.

Explaining the functions of the TransCoil system, the company said that the system is rapidly deployed with a coiled tubing (CT) unit into already installed production tubing, reducing deployment time from days to hours. The technology, the company revealed, also features an inverted ESP system with the motor connected directly to the powered CT. By eliminating the traditional ESP power cable-to-motor connection, the technology, the company said further, improves overall system reliability. The TransCoil nickel alloy outer jacket, it added, also provides corrosion protection in harsh environments.

The TransCoil system, the company said, is designed to bring wells on production faster with lower installation and replacement costs for ESPs. The company highlighted that by eliminating the need for an expensive rig to replace the ESP, it is particularly advantageous in offshore wells where not only rig intervention costs are expensive, but also where limited rig availability can delay ESP replacement.

“With our large ESP installation base, including many ESPs installed in our offshore fields, the ability to rapidly deploy ESPs riglessly provides tremendous cost reduction to our overall operations,” said Nasir K Al Naimi, vice president of Petroleum Engineering and Development. “The TransCoil system is particularly beneficial in our challenging high H2S fields as the premium metallurgy TransCoil can significantly extend the ESP operational life in harsh environment wells. Collaboratively working with Baker Hughes, we have developed a solution that meets our immediate challenges and enables our long-term vision of one day ESP change-out.”