Obtaining low bottomhole pressures in deep wells with hydraulic jet pumps

Maximizing production in a well requires reducing the bottomhole pressure (BHP) to the lowest practical minimum by artificial lift. This task is particularly difficult in deep wells because of the need to transmit power a long distance to the bottom of the well and because of the high temperatures encountered at depth. Reciprocating hydraulic pumps have historically been used for this purpose in deep wells, especially those deeper than 10,000 ft (3048 m). for more than a decade, the hydraulic jet pump has successfully produced deep wells. In a number of cases, jet pumps have produced deep wells to less than 10% submergence. This paper identifies the hydraulic jet pump as a reasonable method to produce deep wells to low BHP's with predictable performance. A number of examples and well tests illustrate the performance of jet-pumped production systems.