Well Pump Intake - Oil and Water Application

nothing.. there is no difference

the red thing is the intake

There is no difference in any way, an intake for a electrical submersible pump (ESP) used in the oil industry for bringing well fluid to the surface and a ESP for water, again the type used for oil, is exactly the same.

If you need a photo then go to www.slb.com, and see if they have a photo for you.

All the intake is, in the case of a separate intake, that is, one that you bolt onto the bottom of the lower tandem pump (LTP) and an "integral" type, that is one that is PART of the LTP... it is the device which allows fluid into the pump and provides a flange by which you bolt/secure the LTP to the protector.

Fluid viscosity or density will have a relationship to the work done by the motor, the denser the fluid the harder the motor works, cooling.. not an issue as seldom do intakes get hot, only of there is no fluid, with Schlumberger, Wood Group, BakerHughes/Centrilift and many other manufacturers of ESP's the intake for water or well fluid is the same.

However, that will change if the well is gassy, in the case of oil wells, and then a Gas Separator (GS) or Advanced Gas Handler (AGH) is used in place of the intake.

The function of the AGH or GS is to allow fluid into the pump, but either separate the gas from the fluid (GS) or in the AGH compresses the gas hopefully back in to solution, both of which remove or minimise the problem of gas locking (NOT cavitation) in the pump stages.

Unless I am very wrong, there are two basic types of submersible pumps. one is the centrifugal type and the other is the positive displacement type.

The centrifugal type is most often operated by a motor connected directly to the pump part and located at the bottom of the (water) well casing.

The positive displacement type has only the pump mechanism at the bottom of the well connected by rod to the "donkey" beam machinery located at ground level. These are seen all over a typical oil field.

I have also seen submerged centrifugal pumps driven by a welhead mounted motor and connecting shaft.

yes the older type were, or you were looking at a PCP (progressive cavity pump) with two surface motors, drive belts and a gear box at surface.. limited by the drive rods to about 300 maybe 400 meters setting depth of the intake. Used for heavy fluids.

Thanks for all your inputs , I expected that the intake screen should have bigger holes for the oil pump comparing to the water pump. whatever , I will consider that both applications we will have the same intake screen desing and perforation/holes size.

"I expected that the intake screen should have bigger holes for the oil pump comparing to the water pump".

No, its the opposite actually!

Water pumps and water wells usually produce water in the tens of thousands of barrels a day, whereas an oil well production can be as low as 200bpd.

The bigger the pump the larger the intake, the larger the intake holes, to allow the fluid/water to flow into the pump.

The silver screen you see in the NEW intake I show in the photo, is there to stop sand and small shale entering the pump, usually a water pump does not have this slotted screen. So the size of the intake is related to the size of the pump and the expected fluid to surface

The centrifugal type is most often operated by a motor connected directly to the pump part and located at the bottom of the (water) well casing.

No not totally correct, there is a seal or protector in-between with regards to the type of ESP the OP is talking about. Reason is the depths these pump are set at (and its NOT always at the bottom of the well or casing (two different things)) and the temperature ranges they have to deal with. For further explanations please look for my other posts on ESP's, there are lots of them explaining the do's and do not's, the why's and why not's!

The positive displacement type has only the pump mechanism at the bottom of the well connected by rod to the "donkey" beam machinery located at ground level. These are seen all over a typical oil field.

This is "sucker rod" type, artificial lift YES! Submersible pump, No...