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The Vapor Jet System is an alternative to conventional vapor recovery technology for the recovery of hydrocarbon vapors from oil production facilities" storage tanks. The process utilizes a pump to pressurize a stream of produced water to serve as the operating medium for a jet pump. The potential energy ( pressure ) of the produced water stream is converted to kinetic energy ( velocity ) in the jet pump. The high velocity water stream entrains the near atmospheric pressured vapors and returns them to the facilities" low pressure system for separation and sale.

The Walnut Bend Field is located approximately 65 miles north of Dallas in Cooke County, Texas. The field was discovered in 1938 by Sinclair. ARC0 is the operator of Unit 1 and Unit 2 along with 10 other 100% working interest leases. Most of the current production comes from Unit 1 and Unit 2.

As a joint effort by several petroleum industry associations in Texas, the Petroleum Industry Security Council (PISC) was formed in early 1982 to combat the ever mounting oilfield theft problem. Chartered as a non-profit organization, PISC is charged with developing programs designed to reduce and control thefts in the oil patch. The primary thrust of PISC is to support and compliment law enforcement officials and industry security personnel.

The word corrosion may be defined as the destruction of metal by chemical or electrochemical action. Destruction by mechanical means is usually called erosion. The rusting of iron is an example of corrosion, while the filing of iron to dust is an example of erosion. Essentially, atmospheric corrosion is the reverse process to that involved in refining metals from their ores. Iron is usually found in nature as iron oxide or iron hydroxide. When it corrodes in air, it returns to iron oxide or iron hydroxide. Copper occurs as the sulfide or basic sulfate.

The purpose of this paper is to provide practical information on the selection of natural gas compressors. No claim is made that this selection procedure is unique -- this information is drawn from experience and data from many sources. The intent was to keep the commercial aspect out of the paper and to try to provide a valuable source of information to be used by anyone. The paper will present practical design calculations used to size natural gas compressor packages for field application.

Thermal/infrared inspection detects and isolates abnormal variations in radiant energy emitted from bearings, motor, switch gear and transformers of operating oil field pumping units. Thus, qualitative and quantitative data on each problem is established. Thermographic and/or photographic images are taken to document the condition.

Thermographic inspection, through the use of portable infrared imagers and non-contact spot radiometers, has been performed on approximately three thousand pumping units in many active Permian Basin oil fields within the past two and one-half years. Infrared imagers with camera adaptability were used to inspect saddle or Sampson post bearings, equalizer or tail bearings, wrist pin bearings, exterior gear box bearings, electric motor and related switch gear on each beam-type pumping unit.

This paper will present case studies detailing the successful use of thermoplastic lined tubulars including liner products composed of HDPE, a proprietary polyolefin blend, and PPS of 2,400 wells operating in 29 different fields. All of the lined tubulars in these wells are still in services today and some were installed back in 1996. A review of critical limitations of the liners such as temperature and diameter changes will also be discussed in an effort to avoid the misapplication of thermoplastic liners.

This paper discusses the installation and field service application of thermoplastic pipe with reference to basic physical and chemical properties and pipeline design considerations.

An innovative approach has been used to model flow through discrete fracture networks in a massive carbonate reservoir in order to understand and predict performance of vertical and horizontal well completions. This approach focuses on completion effectiveness and the influences that fractures have in a three-phase gravity influenced flow system. The model is set up as a dual porosity, dual permeability simulation of a discrete fracture network of high permeability grid blocks capable of modeling three-phase flow.

Borehole sonic transit time measurements have been used by engineers and geologists in west Texas since the mid-1950's. The great majority of this sonic data has been acquired in open hole. With recent improvements in acquisition and processing technology, reasonable data can now be obtained in cased wellbores. The purpose of this study is to compare cased hole data with the established open hole data standard. The evidence suggests that usable compressional and shear transit time data can be obtained through casing. There are over 120,000 cased wellbores in west Texas as of this writing.

Past studies by DOE, NPC, and GRI confirm that an enormous volume of gas is trapped in low permeability reservoirs. However, neither current technology nor price is adequate to allow widespread development of these reservoirs. To better understand the fracturing process and, thus, be able to eventually improve technology, it is first necessary to improve our understanding of the low permeability reservoirs that are being fracture treated.

More than 400,000 wells in the United States operate with beam pump artificial lift equipment. Most of these wells have a pump capacity which exceeds the production rate of the well. Also, most of these wells pump 24 hours per day. These wells would operate more efficiently and at a lower cost with a device that reduces the amount of pumping unit operating time. This reduction in operating time decreases both
electricity and maintenance costs.

Computers aid the engineer in that they make available sophisticated solution procedures, take the drudgery out of computation and provide accuracy in number handling. One of the most recent innovations in computing is the timesharing system. This system brings the computer face-to-face with the engineer and gives immediate online answers, but is this tool a panacea or a Pandora box, a money maker or a dollar drain; severely limited or unlimited; to be welcomed or resisted?

This article examines some causes of rod failure and explains material selection, running and pulling practices.

Producing hydrocarbons from the lower Delaware Formation in SE New Mexico and West Texas is often associated with a high water production. In the Matthews Field in West Texas, an operator was encountering water production of over 600 bbls per day from the prior treated wells. Modifying the stimulation techniques and processes were chosen in an attempt to improve the production results. Multiple stage treatments using coiled tubing with selective placement controls and reduced rates were performed to lower the fracture height growth in an attempt to reduce water production.

The main purpose in the treatment of the Devonian formation is to successfully place the proppant strategically to produce as little non-hydrocarbon fluid as possible. In the Roepke Field in West Texas (Crane County), an operator was entering his first newly drilled well in the area. Difficulties in the completion for an offset operator included high treating pressures resulting in shortened pump schedules and low fracture conductivity. Issues for this operator included proper log analysis, perforating schemes, well-bore mechanics, and the main stimulation treatment design.

The paper will discuss an innovative stimulation technique performed on several open hole horizontal San Andres wells in Dawson and Gaines County, TX. Stimulation objectives will be outlined and explained along with supporting well production information. The paper will also compare this completion technique with several other horizontal stimulation techniques performed in the recent history of this field.

Understanding the fundamental advantages and disadvantages for running a Top Hold Down Pump compared to the advantages and disadvantages of running a Bottom Hold Down Pump.What type of well conditions and parameters to consider when deciding on a Top Hold Down Pump or Bottom Hold Down Pump.

A computer program has been developed which permits torque calculations in a much simpler and much accurate manner than previously presented in API publications. This is accomplished by using a highly accurate digitizing technique to input the necessary number of points from the dynamometer card. The proposed technique improves the accuracy of the data over manual input and allows a much greater number of points to be used for subsequent analysis.

Manufacturers are constantly being asked to furnish special combinations of stroke length, beam sizes and other structural modifications to meet the particular requirements of those responsible for the application of pumping units. These special demands are often made without due consideration of their effect on the loading of the unit gear reducer and prime mover. Torque factors which were made available through the workings of API committees have not been used as much as they should be; if they were, some of the special arrangements would not be requested.

In order to clarify the present discussion, it is thought wise to review briefly the discussion and demonstration of The dynagraph animator, to help you visualize the properties of sucker rods, and the significance of the dynagraph. The dynagraph of an oil well is no more than a graphical record of force recorded against a distance from some starting point. We usually consider the lowest point in the polished rod travel, which is the beginning of the point.

The Oil and Gas Industry is benefiting from development and use of improved predictive computer programs that now utilize several friction defaults. These predictive programs are more capable of predicting surface and downhole rod pumping conditions. The need for improved predictive accuracy is requiring program users to adopt improved estimates of downstroke friction to model downhole pumping conditions.

This paper presents the results of a Total System Cost Comparison program between Electric Submersible Pump's (ESP"s) and Beam Lift Pumps that are typical within Amoco's northern Permian Basin operating areas. This program calculates a common variable of, .VBFPD. for Total System Cost and Operating and Maintenance Cost. This common variable may be used to help the operator make the best decision regarding economics, on which type lift to use. The calculation takes into account all equipment cost, all installation cost.

Major advances in the measurement of extremely small amounts of radiation make the use of radioactive isotopes as a tracing material in petroleum reservoirs practical. Isotopes, Inc. has developed equipment capable of extremely low level techniques which, together with a number of low cost radioactive isotopes, make possible many useful applications in reservoir engineering.