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"The Wellhead Scanalog is a new and effective approach to the evaluation of used oil field tubing. Designed to perform tubular inspection while the tubing is being pulled, it does not interfere with normal workover operations. The tool provides four non-destructive methods to detect and evaluate used tubing defects such as rodwear, corrosion pitting, erosion, holes, and splits. A new rotating magnetic field technique is used for rod wear, a modified flux leakage technique is used for pitting, and average wall measurements derive from a total flux concept.

The use of Variable Speed Drives to control Rod Pumps has been tried with varying results. The success has been limited due to issues such as surface equipment reliability, regeneration, voltage and current harmonics, poor power factor, and premature Rod, Tubing, and Pump failure. This paper describes a unique technology that combines the latest advances in power electronics with patented firmware and application software solutions resulting in optimized production and reduced maintenance and energy costs for heavy oil, high gas content and "problem" wells.

Acoustic liquid level tests are performed successfully in many different applications throughout the world. Advanced techniques for acoustic liquid level analysis are required for wells where unusual conditions exist such as very shallow liquid levels, annular partial obstructions, flush pipe, short tubing joints, etc. Some wells have liners, upper perforations, paraffin, odd length of tubing joints, poor surface connections and other conditions which result in an acoustic trace that may be very difficult to interpret.

Slim hole completions have become quite common within the past six or seven years in both oil and gas wells. Lift design developments, some quite recent, have expanded the possibilities with this type of completion. The paper discusses advancements and practices in slim hole completions as related to sucker rod and subsurface hydraulic lift designs. It will be confined to designs applicable in casing diameters of 4 1/2" OD or smaller. Sucker rod designs will be those applicable in 2 3/8 " and 2 7/8" casing. Subsurface hydraulic designs will include 4 1/2 " OD casing.

Much of the emphasis in the oil industry today is associated with deeper drilling, offshore development and continued activity in the formation of large secondary recovery projects. With each of these trends, when artificial lift equipment is required, more than likely it will need to be capable of lifting greater volumes from greater depths. Manufacturers of hydraulic pumping equipment have been aware of this forthcoming need and have devoted much of their efforts during the past few years to the development of lift equipment capable of economically meeting these high horsepower needs.

Significant advances in hydraulic pumping will be reviewed, including a discussion of specialized applications of these improvements.

Deposits of paraffin wax, asphaltene, mineral scale and the water component of BS&W (basic sediments and water) in oil wells have cost producers millions of dollars in chemical, thermal and mechanical treatments, and in lost production. In some cases, traditional treatment methods have reduced the ability of the wells to produce to their potential. Previous treatment methods such as biological, galvanic, and magnetic devices were minimal and were limited to a few geographical areas.

Since the decline in oil prices, the trend in the industry has been toward the maintenance of producing, existing reserves and away from the cost of trying to find new ones. The concern over the longevity of producing fields and new environmental legislation has led to an increased interest in corrosion control of downhole tubulars. If in situ complete and accurate measurements of downhole casing and tubing conditions can be made, the corrosion engineer can best determine the optimum cost-saving action to be taken.

Dynamometer testing of sucker rod lifted wells is performed routinely in a safe and efficient manner throughout the world.

Dire predictions regarding the availability of petroleum and continuation of our present civilization, are indicated by the title of a recent presentation "The Peak of World Oil Production and the Road to the Olduvai Gorge," which predicts the crash of civilization in 2030." There are other more conservative predictions for just a peak in petroleum production in 2005. In a previous paper at this conference I projected the peak in oil production to 2040.

Field data on pumping well buildup curves illustrate long fluid column stabilization, U-tubing of liquid from tubing into the annulus, gas coning, high-pressure gas stringers, and high-pressure liquid stringers. Examples are given of truncation and of fitting two curves to the afterflow to get a better approximation of main pay and stringer properties, and of estimating unflooded stringer pressure from afterflow changes.

The American Gear Manufacturers' Association introduced its first recommendation for sizing oilfield pumping unit gear reducers in the year 1935. This recommendation eventually became AGMA Standard 422.02 and was incorporated in API Standard 11E. Since 1935 the only major change in API Standard 11E has been the addition of ductile iron as a gear material. AGMA's new standard, AGMA 422.XX, covers recommended gear ratings based on tooth strength as well as pitting resistance. The present standards, AGMA 422.02 and API llE, do not include specific recommendations for tooth strength.

Oil and gas drilling and production activities are currently regulated by many governmental entities. Such massive regulation inevitably leads to industry discussions concerning whether or not certain specific regulations are needed. This paper broadly outlines the impact of the Texas Clean Air Act of 1967 on petroleum drilling and production activities. The reasonableness and necessity of this act are reviewed with respect to the various petroleum-production activities.

This paper discusses the mechanics of air drilling, modifications such as mist or foam drilling, unique equipment requirements, and downhole problems that have been encountered. Special attention is given to describing techniques developed to prevent or control downhole problems.

In 2000 TEMA Oil & Gas ("TEMA") purchased the Simpson-Mann field in Val Verde and Crockett counties. The Simpson-Mann field's completion horizon is the Canyon Sand. From their prior Canyon Sand experience, TEMA's asset management team was convinced that better completions could be made. While the initial post acquisition completions were equivalent to the field's historical completions, TEMA was disappointed in the quality of their new wells.

The last American Frontier, Alaska, is for the most part a harsh and demanding wilderness - a land of extremes. There are places where winter temperatures reach a painfully cold -85_F and summer highs reaching a sweltering 95_F. For most of the year Alaska's North Slope (area between Brooks Range and Arctic Ocean) remains an icy desert, receiving less than six inches of moisture annually. Despite these extremes, Alaska's North Slope has an abundant amount of wildlife. The summer months bring the Caribou back to their traditional camping grounds.

About two trillion barrels of oil will remain in the existing reservoirs without implementing enhanced oil recovery. Chemical recovery offers the most obvious and attractive method to recover this oil. Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP) is the most promising chemical EOR process due to the synergism of alkaline, surfactant and polymer flooding.

A new technology called the Hydro-Balanced Stuffing Box System used successfully to prevent pollution caused by polished rod pumps, was designed for use in Artificial Lift Systems using a positive displacement plunger pump. The development was discussed in a paper presented at the 2000 Southwestern Petroleum Short Course and this paper will discuss the field testing and further developments in the technology. A leak in the high pressure packing of a pump has the potential of causing environmental pollution, safety hazards, loss of energy and costly clean-up.

In order to combat falling productivity and increased water production in the West Flowers and Guest (Canyon Sand) fields, a new approach to stimulation technique and fluid had to be initiated. It was suspected that many pre-1975 frac jobs probably were lost into unproductive zones resulting in very little stimulation of the actual pay section. To combat this situation, the frac fluid was changed to a very high viscosity cross-linked CM C-based polymer gel. The base fluid was 2% KC1 water treated with de-emulsifiers.

More effective use of computing tools for production surveillance by operations and engineering personnel is critical to increases in profitability. Exxon's ALWORKS (Artificial Lift Workstation) is a software package that provides easy access to electronically stored data and provides that data to various surveillance, analysis and design applications with minimal user effort. The software has been field tested and significant increases in productivity by operations personnel have been observed, which will lead to increases in profitability.

American Petroleum Institute (API) Specification 11B covers requirements for standardization of components, materials, dimensional requirements, and testing/inspection for sucker rod components.
This paper will review the recent revision of this specification and highlight the changes made to the specification

As early as 1895, Herman Frasch recognized a need for acid additives in acid stimulation treatments. His observations and subsequent patent spelled out the need for an acid corrosion inhibitor. During the span of years from the early 1930s to the mid 196Os, much advancement was made in the field of developing additives for hydrochloric acid stimulation. Surfactants, corrosion inhibitors, buffering agents, and reaction time retarders as we know them today, had their beginnings. The one notable factor about these advances is the fact that all were truely additives for the acid.

This paper presents the development of a new system for water and gas shutoff operations. This system combines a conformance sealant (based on an organically crosslinked polymer) with non-cement particulates. The particulates provide leak off control which leads to shallow matrix penetration of the sealant. This filtrate from the leak off is thermally activated. After exposure to the bottomhole temperature of the well, it forms a three-dimensional gel structure which effectively seals off the targeted interval.

As hydraulic fracturing treatments continue to increase in fluid volume and in expense, emphasis is now being placed on more efficient treatment techniques. The traditional method of batch mixing a fracturing fluid has several disadvantages. Once the chemicals are added to the mixing water, they must be pumped within a specific length of time in order to retain their effectiveness. A delay due to well, weather or equipment problems can cause the premixed chemicals to degrade. Chemicals used to mix fracturing fluids constitute a substantial part of the treatment cost.

A discussion of the evolution in design, development and application of subsurface locking mandrels is presented. Several major types will be discussed with respect to their merits and limitations. A case history shows the use of the mandrel from completion to gas lift operations.