Artificial Lift

Sucker rod pump or “rod pump” is a common method of artificial lift for oil and gas wells in the United States. For decades well analysts and production engineers have looked at surface and downhole dynamometer cards to diagnose various downhole and surface equipment issues alike. In more recent years, helpful rod pump diagnostic tools have aided well analysts and production engineers in training...

The most common well profiles for reciprocating rod lift applications are deviated and highly corrosive wells. Many newly drilled horizontal wells exhibit moderate to severe deviations which require the pump to be set in the curve to produce intended target zones; resulting in a challenging environment for rod lift systems to successfully operate. These wells tend to be accompanied by corrosion...

Longer laterals, better perforations and larger frac jobs have all enabled increased production capabilities, yet production optimization practices have remained stagnant and, in doing so, limit the ability to draw wells down more aggressively. The data provided in the most common fluid level processes does not meet the challenges generated by fluctuating well dynamics and conditions. The...

Deviated wells have now been the standard form of drilling, increasing well life and production but also creating challenges in the Artificial Lift System, specifically the Reciprocating Rod Lift (RRL). With aggressive drilling deviations rod string guiding becomes a requirement, landing pumps in 45+° zones a normal, and gas mitigation a complete necessity to achieve target productions. 

In 2018...

In the past 10 years, drilling methods have drastically reduced the time it takes to drill wells. This is especially true in today’s unconventional shale market where 20,000 ft wells are being drilled in under 14 days. This increase in drilling rates along with increasing depths and deviations has presented many challenges for the conventional rod lift system, which was designed to last for ten...

One requirement of a Class VI Underground Injection Control permit involves continuous monitoring and reporting of injection pressure. Wells in pilot and commercial scale carbon dioxide (CO2) storage sites are equipped with devices that measure pressure and flow rate during injection operations. Downhole device failures have occured during CO2 injection operations in projects, which prevent bottom...

Two widely used methods of artificial lift are Electrical Submersible Pumps (ESP) and Sucker Rod Pumps (SRP. Each of these methods frequently require methods to avoid or handle gas for successful operations. Presented here are discussions of methods of gas separation for each method and graphical techniques for prediction of the gas separator performance that will allow the user to better select a...

It is recognized in the industry that it is wise to have AL in place before liquid loading is expected for a number of reasons.  These reasons include no production loss when the well drops below critical, convenience as the rig may/may not be available when the well drops below critical later, and in some cases some uplift is observed when installing plunger other AL before the rate drops below a...

In unconventional wells unstable dynamic behavior ensuing from an exchange of energy in the casing and tubing is the biggest challenge in gas lift design. As reservoir and tubing pressures decline from early conditions, wells show erratic behavior in decreasing fluid levels and hence unload and operate at variable depths. This case study presents the full workflow of creating an effective gas-lift...

Contemporary lift strategy for a newly completed well generally includes a period of unassisted flow followed by an Electrical Submersible Pump (ESP) system - up to half a dozen in certain situations. This is followed by one of a multitude of artificial lift options often culminating in a rod lift strategy for low-production to end of life. Ignoring entirely the financial component of these...