Artificial Lift

Black Mamba Rod Lift debuted in 2019, shipping its first Complete Rod Control sucker rods in Fall of 2020. Its use has expanded across the globe in a variety of wells and drill styles, meeting various needs of operators. In 2022, Chevron began piloting Black Mamba’s Complete Rod Control designs and product in complex, problematic wells. Alternate solutions were also deployed simultaneously in...

When operating rod pumps, it is important to match the volume displaced by the pump to the inflow from the reservoir. By doing so, downhole pressure is minimized, thus maximizing production, while keeping mechanical damage and power consumption to a minimum. Various devices such as time clocks, pump-off controllers or variable frequency drives have been adopted in the industry to achieve this goal...

Production engineers rely upon a variety of data streams from the field to optimize production and maintain safe, environmentally responsible operations; without the reliable collection of this information, we cannot do our jobs. Given the challenges of operating assets spread over vast areas and the inadequacies of workflows relying upon manual measurements and communication, automated data...

This paper presents new research methods, designs, and field testing of a new type of mechanical gas separator for electric submersible pumping (ESP) systems that increases the operating flow range and separation efficiency performance, while decreasing erosion problems and improving reliability. 

A state-of-the-art test system for measuring and understanding the internal workings of two-phase...

The objective of this paper is to present oil and gas industry the advancement and improvement of the Baker Hughes ESP phase system on wells with relatively high GLR, moderate water cut, and suggest considering the presented design system in comparable wells for an extended run-life. Paper presents run-life analysis and comparison of a conventional design versus the phase system in terms of power...

Continuous sucker rod had been used for many years in sucker rod pump applications. However, several challenges have limited its acceptance in the past. The availability of service equipment, welding methodology, and selection of metallurgy all contributed to premature failures and operator frustration with the timeliness of installation and repairs.

A new approach to implementing continuous rod...

This session will explore and introduce a hydraulic drive and transmission system harnessing natural gas engines, to achieve variable speed control, regardless of the power infrastructure available at the well site. 

When paired with an automatic Pump-Off Control system and a De-Gas Compressor, which is available with a dual drive transmission option, the patented hydraulic drive system...

Surface coatings are often needed for sucker rod pump components to protect them from the harsh downhole environments of corrosives, formation solids, and even treatment chemicals. Most coatings have both positive and negative characteristics in protecting from each of the downhole aggressors, therefore further precautions must be taken to ensure the survival rate of components, given the...

Extending the run life of wells with Electrical Submersible Pumps (ESP) becomes a crucial need since it is one of the most economically expensive types of ALS. Following the need, a sand regulator has been designed to protect the pump during shutdowns, and it has been incorporated into traditional sand control configurations to offer extensive protection above and below the pump. This paper will...

Rod pumping unconventional wells is becoming increasingly challenging due to unpredictable downhole environments. Many unconventional wells exhibit significant deviation accompanied with corrosion making them difficult to rod lift without exposing downhole equipment to unpredictable damage mechanisms – specifically the rod string.

Continuous rod is a proven technology in these deviated...