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passage for liquid and up-flow area for gas. This allows the oil
(and water) to move relatively slowly, typically, downward from
the perforations to the pump, and permits the gas to separate and
flow upward. For this reason, a natural gas anchor should be used
whenever practical because it takes advantage of the entire casing
internal cross-sectional area. This type of separator typically
should be placed approximately 15 ft below the lowest most-active
well perforations. However, if there is insufficient distance in the
well to place the pump intake below the perforations, then the
pump intake should be placed approximately 15 ft above the top-
most perforation and a poor boy separator should be properly
designed and installed.

Electrical Submerged Pump
The electrical submersible pump, typically called an ESP, is
an efficient and reliable artificial-lift method for lifting moderate
to high volumes of fluids from wellbores. These volumes range
from a low of 150 B/D to as much as 150,000 B/D (24 to 24,600
3
m /d). Variable-speed controllers can extend this range
significantly, both on the high and low side. The ESP’s main
components include:
 Multistaged centrifugal pump
 Three-phase induction motor
 Seal-chamber section
 Power cable
 Surface controls
The components are normally tubing hung from the wellhead
with the pump on top and the motor attached below. There
arespecial applications in which this configuration is inverted.
As area in which ESPs are applied extensively, THUMS Long
Beach Co. was formed in April 1965 to drill, develop, and produce
the 6,479-acre Long Beach unit in Wilmington field, Long Beach,
California. ESPs have been the primary method of lifting fluids
from the approximately 1,100 deviated wells from four man-made
offshore islands and one onshore site.

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