Jonathan Martin, Black Mamba Rod Lift
Black Mamba Rod Lift’s helical centralizer stabilizes the rod string during pumping chaos. Chaos is understood as sucker rod buckling and negative loading (compression), which is impossible to eliminate in beam lift wells. The source of compression is often from nature (gas interference, fluid pound, gas pound) but can be operator induced (seating the pump, pump tagging), or compression as part of the pumping method and operation (pump friction, fluid load transition). When compression occurs on standard slick or guided sucker rod, rods experience bending moments, or focused points of high stress leading to micro-fractures which propagate and lead to rod parts. Multiple operators big and small have tested and validated Black Mamba’s system design. By April 2022, we will have had product tested and deployed for nearly 24 months. Operators elect to use Black Mamba for standard guide replacement, but most often opt for Complete, Predictable, End-to-End Rod Control (7 Black Mamba guides per rod), eliminating instability and providing a drastic increase in rod string reliability and rod string life, increasing MTF dramatically. The implementation of rod string stability is most often found at the bottom of the rod string where compression is most prevalent, working upward. Often 3/4" rods have been removed from system and string design due to their low AMOI and increased tendency for buckling. With constant centralization, 3/4" rods take compression and never buckle, following tubing exactly. Sinker Bar replacement is common in deviated horizontals, with the industry transitioning to guided 1” or 7/8” rod body with 3/4" pin connection (reduced coupling diameter allows for extended guide life). This product offering is provided to industry by multiple manufacturers, Black Mamba doing so in Permian, Bakken, Mid-Con. Utilizing 7/8” Slim Hole Couplings (with proper derating) is a good idea for extending rod guide life and extending the time-to-first-contact between coupling and tubing. 1” Slim Hole Couplings are so large they practically render rod guides useless for 1” rod body with 1” pin connection. We discourage the use of standard 1” pin connections when possible. Hybrid sucker rod products are available and actively promoted – 1” HA/HS rod with 7/8” connection reduces coupling diameter, maintains pin-connection strength, and will extend time-to-first-contact between coupling and tubing. Designing rod strings with chaos expected is an ideal method for ensuring the rod string is buckle-proof and ready for any source of chaos, operationally driven or nature driven. Compression Control Rod String Design considers all drivers of instability; the rod string can operate without bending moments, preventing a driving force of pre-mature sucker rod fatigue. Black Mamba’s installations have increased habitual failures by 6x (last 8 failures were at 3 months each), allows operators to pump 192” stroke units at 10 SPM reliably, and removes all guess-work out of string design. Product will have been deployed for nearly 2 years across the world in a variety of pumping conditions.