Estimation of Flow Rate and Viscosity in a Well with an Electric Submersible Pump using Moving Horizon Estimation∗

A Moving Horizon Estimator (MHE) is designed for a petroleum production well with an Electric Submersible Pump (ESP) installed for artificial lift. The focus is on estimating the flow rate from the well, the viscosity of the produced fluid, and the productivity index of the well. The software package ACADO is used to implement a Moving Horizon Estimator using a third-order nonlinear model. Simulation results show that the implemented estimator is able to estimate the desired variable and parameters. The resulting C-code solver is very fast, admitting real-time implementation.