Link for citation:  Urazakov K.R., Alimetov Sh. A., Tugunov P.M. Investigation of the efficiency of removing water and mechanical impurities from the bottom of oil wells. Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. Geo Assets Engineering, 2021, vol. 332, no. 10, рр. 77–85. In Rus.

Relevance. To date, the exploitation of a significant share of oil fields is mechanized and is accompanied by a number of complications due to the decline in production rate wells, irrigation products, corrosion, and deposition of mechanical impurities in the components of the pumping equipment. The accumulation of reservoir water and mechanical impurities in the wellbore leads to the increase in the mixture density in the well, decrease in reservoir depression and flow rate, and growth in the rate of casing corrosion wear. In this regard, one of the most urgent tasks of cost-effective well operation is to ensure the conditions for removal of reservoir water and mechanical impurities from the well bore. Object: producing wells that exploit watered formations, the products of which contain mechanical impurities. The interval below the pump intake is equipped with a shank designed to increase the flow rate and provide conditions for removal of reservoir water and mechanical impurities. The purpose of the research is to substantiate the optimal diameter of the shank, which provides conditions for removal of reservoir water and mechanical impurities from the bottom of wells and, accordingly, the minimum pressure drop in the wellbore below the pump intake. Results. The influence of operational parameters (water cut, product viscosity, flow rate) on the formation of a pressure gradient in the wellbore below the pump intake is studied. The authors have developed a computational method for determining the diameter of the shank, which ensures the removal of water and mechanical impurities from the bottom of waterlogged oil wells, implemented in the form of a computer program. It is shown that the efficiency of the shank use in terms of reservoir water removal increases as the water cut, the viscosity of the product and the flow rate of the well decrease. It is found that as the well flow rate decreases in the liquid, the diameter of the shank, which is necessary for removal of mechanical impurities, decreases.