Paper: Tubingless PCP Applications For Slimhole Wells

The Sacatosa field is located in Maverick County, approximately 19 miles East of Eagle Pass, Texas. Production has been mainly limited to the San Miguel -1 reservoir. Conoco discovered this sandstone formation (1 135 to 1768 feet deep) in December 1956. Production wells were typically drilled using one string of 4 %-inch, J55, 9.5 lb./ft. casing. Completion practices typically did not always cement back to the surface. After many years of service, well casings have failed. It has been common practice to extend the productive life of these wells by cementing in 3-inch or 2 7/8-inch liners. However, 1.9- inch tubing is then required to run insert sucker rod pumps. Because of the thin wall thickness of this pipe, there have been numerous tubing failures. Additionally, approximately 10 years after running a liner, a well typically starts to have liner problems. A unique application of the progressing cavity pump (PCP) technology was tried in a pilot well by running this equipment without tubing. After the first success, three other installations were tried. This paper will discuss these installations and provide further discussion on the application of PCP technology to other wells.