Patent ID: 8443900

Claim:
A method of unloading water from a natural gas reservoir, comprising: deploying a downhole assembly of a pumping system into a wellbore and within a tubular string disposed in the wellbore to a location proximate the reservoir using a cable having coaxial conductors and a strength sufficient to support a weight of the downhole assembly and the cable, wherein: the downhole assembly comprises a motor, an isolation device, and a multi-stage pump, the isolation device has an expandable seal and an anchor, and a maximum outer diameter of the downhole assembly and the cable is less than or equal to two inches; setting the isolation device, thereby rotationally fixing the downhole assembly to the tubular string and isolating an inlet of the multi-stage pump from an outlet of the multi-stage pump; supplying a direct current (DC) power signal from the surface to the downhole assembly via the cable extending through a bore of the tubular string, thereby: operating the motor and multi-stage pump at a speed greater than or equal to ten thousand revolutions per minute (RPM), pumping the water to the surface through the bore of the tubular string, and lowering a water level in the tubular string bore to a level proximate the reservoir; and once the water level has been lowered and while the water level is lowered in the tubular string bore: unsetting the isolation device; and removing the downhole assembly from the wellbore using the cable.