Artificial Lift

The most common form of artificial lift is sucker-rod pumping. One of the main elements of rod lift system design is the selection of a downhole pump. This study examines the various factors that affect the selection and design of downhole rod pumps. This paper will examine the following five downhole pump components: barrel, plunger, cages, balls and seats, and seating assembly. Understanding the...

The Greater Elk Hills Area boasts a substantial continuous rod population, introduced to the field due to loading requirements and casing restrictions. However, the existing continuous rod population is now comprised of older worn rod strings, with many of these strings exceeding ten years of service. These rod strings commonly require sections of rod replaced when they are pulled during service...

With the use of mechanical long stroke units having stroke lengths of 291–416 inches, converting to rod lift is being done sooner. Rates of 400-900 bfpd are being achieved in wells as deep as 10000 feet TVD. This helps to eliminate running multiple ESPs to draw down a well into the 400-500 bfpd range. This presentation will discuss the history and demand of long stroke pumping units in the market...

Standing and Traveling valves can be considered as the heart of a rod pump. An unrestricted fluid flow through the standing and traveling valves improve the pump efficiency and pump life. An unrestrained fluid flow through the traveling valve helps the sucker rod string to fall freely, which reduces rod buckling and eliminates unnecessary load on the surface unit. And in the case of the standing...

At the well or through the cloud from any location in the world an operator can troubleshoot and analyze the performance of any well. Fluid level and dynamometer test can be acquired and used to analyze challenging sucker rod lifted wells without requiring the operator to be present at the wellsite. The operator can automatically acquire precisely time stamped high frequency data using an...

Incomplete fillage conditions where the downhole pump does not completely fill up with incompressible liquid has been widely accepted to have detrimental effects on pumping efficiency and moreover the equipment longevity in sucker rod pumping applications. Methods of synchronizing the pump displacement to the wells inflow and thus reducing incomplete fillage has been of keen interest to the...

The percentage of oil wells using 3-Phase Electric motors controlled by Variable Frequency Drives is continuing to grow.  As new wells come online they are also added to existing Utility feeder lines.     As a result of increasing non-linear load density, utilities are gradually turning to stricter enforcement protocols.  New utility interconnect permits may be withheld until the utility is...

Extended-reach horizontal well geometries and higher hydraulic fracturing stage counts have led to increased well productivities in tight oil plays across the Lower-48. However, lateral lengths in excess of 10,000 feet with complex fracture networks can also introduce more dynamic behavior and even more severe production declines over time, often exacerbated by tight oil formations that produce...

QSO Inc. has developed a product to provide a unique and simple solution to problematic or inefficient plunger lift systems installed in horizontal wells in the USA. QSO’s Patented* Horizontal Check Valve (HCV) has removed the limitations that once burdened the industry in not being able to hold fluid properly in a horizontal well. Our HCV has proven to hold fluid in wells where conventional check...

This paper will cover sucker rod pump barrels that are available in the industry for downhole sucker rod pumps, as well as tapered barrels for pressure balance on the upstroke.  For barrels it will cover their traditional uses, interesting exceptions to API 11AR recommendations, barrel materials and their applications, and tubing anchor effects.  The theory behind a new tapered barrel pump will be...