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Wells used for gas production can present many problems for ESP systems. Extended duration gas slugs can cause pumps to lose prime and cycle on and off. This paper deals with one lease holder's attempts to produce gas with an ESP system in place. New Dominion has wells with gas slugs lasting one to three minutes and longer. Working with a manufacturer, a solution was developed that (when properly sized) can balance the well and allow production of gas without constant system shutdowns. This paper examines two case histories involving inverted shrouds as long as 450".

At the 50th Annual Southwestern Short Course in 2003, a paper was presented titled "New Design API Modified Sucker Rod Connection and Methods and Systems for Precise Sucker Rod Connection Makeup". This paper is an information update of continuing development and field applications of the four part api modified connection system in pcp and beam pumping wells.

The objective of this paper is to review applications of horizontal wells, discuss their successes and failures, and summarize the key parameters for economic success. Horizontal wells have been used in 1) thin payzones, 2) naturally fractured reservoirs, 3) formations with gas and/or water coning problems, 4) gas reservoirs and 5) EOR applications.

The objective of this paper is to review applications of horizontal wells, discuss their successes and failures, and summarize the key parameters for economic success. Horizontal wells have been used in 1) thin payzones, 2) naturally fractured reservoirs, 3) formations with gas and/or water coning problems, 4) gas reservoirs and 5) EOR applications.

Many treatises have been written on the subject of knowledge absorption although not under this specific title. Many of these treatises cover narrow as well as broad areas related to methods of teaching specific subject matter as evidenced by numerous articles which have appeared in the Journal of the American Society for Engineering Education as well as in other publications.

Losses while drilling is the one of the severe challenges faced by the well construction team. The area for improvement lies in a better understanding of how different products solve losses and which should be used under what condition. A fracture test device was built to study the effectiveness of different lost circulation materials such as gunk, calcium carbonate, graphite and mica. The variables investigated were the fracture size, lost circulation material type, concentration and size. In addition to the conventional lost circulation materials, different chemical systems were tested.

Pump slippage is an important part of the operation of a rod pumped well. A number of companies along with Texas Tech University have been conducting research on pump slippage in order to better understand the factors that effect slippage and derive a new slippage formula. This research was performed using the Red Raider # 1, a 4006" test well operated by Texas Tech. This presentation will be an update on what has been learned so far during the slippage test.

Smart plunger technology allows producers to receive fast and reliable down hole pressure and temperature information from a plunger equipped with an internal pressure and temperature gauge. The smart plunger is dropped down hole like any other plunger. Normal cyclical operation of the well returns the plunger to surface without the use of wireline, rig, and crew. When the plunger is retrieved at surface, the pressure vs. time data is downloaded to the operator's laptop or PC for display to operators and engineers.

The historical parameters, which have been used to calculate the sinker bar weight for artificially lifted rod-pumped wells, have been based on what is called the z-factor. This factor was derived using the physical dimensions of the lapped area of the sealing surface of the seat in the traveling valve of a rod-drawn pump. This paper describes testing which was done recently at EVI Oil Tools, Trico Industries, Inc. location, at San Marcos, Texas in the Hydraulic Test Lab.

The economical exploitation of domestic oil and gas reserves has become more and more difficult to achieve as the quantity and quality of available reservoirs has declined. Under these marginal conditions, the implementation of optimum completion practices will make the difference between economic success and failure. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the role of laboratory testing in optimizing completion practices.

Typically, channels or streaks of high permeability develop after a period of time in CO2 injection programs. To help prevent injected CO and water from bypassing Recoverable oil polymer is injected which alters permeability to permit injected CO2 and water to contact previously bypassed oil-bearing formation. With the development of the laboratory apparatus described in this paper, significant improvements have been made in analyzing and designing polymer injection strategies to improve conformance control.

The economically successful exploitation of oil and gas resources has become more and more difficult to achieve as the quality of the reservoirs available for exploration have declined. In the last decade much of the activity on-shore in the lower 48 states has concentrated on previously by-passed lower quality reservoirs and in intensive in-field drilling programs in mature fields. Tertiary recovery projects have been emphasized but typically do not compete with well conceived primary production projects.

The economically successful exploitation of oil and gas resources has become more and more difficult to achieve as the quality of the reservoirs available for exploration have declined. In the last decade much of the activity on-shore in the lower 48 states has concentrated on previously by-passed lower quality reservoirs and in intensive in-field drilling programs in mature fields. Tertiary recovery projects have been emphasized but typically do not compete with well conceived primary production projects.

This paper reviews the features and laboratory tests for a unique downhole gas-solids-liquid separator that has been designed. The objective of this project was to develop a gas separator that would perform efficiently at high fluid flow rates and could be also used in combination with a solids separator. The device attaches to the inlet of progressing cavity and beam pumps. With electrical submersible pumps a shroud is used. Scale-model tests were used to evaluate the design at high fluid flow rates.

A discussion of the LACT, as viewed by the pipeliner is presented. Requirements of measurement, tolerance of performance and general examination of this new facility is included.

The drop in oil prices has required everyone to reevaluate their operations to reduce operating costs and improve profit. One potential way to maximize a lease's profit is to ensure that a LACT Unit is properly built, maintained, operated, and proved. ARC0 Oil and Gas Company (AOGC) recently revised their LACT Unit Design and Operation Standards to address these issues. This paper briefly discusses several sections of those new standards which have a significant impact on measurement quality.

Lease Automatic Custody Transfer (LACT) is the name given to the systems which automatically perform the functions of measuring and recording of temperature compensated oil quantity; sampling for subsequent determination of quality; and the running of the oil from the lease into the pipeline in accordance with preset schedules on an unattended basis. Automatic monitoring of oil quality with shut-in of unit on sensing of unmerchantable oil is used in conjunction with LACT. There are two basic types of LACT metering in use in the industry today.

Options for improving productivity in older wells are re-stimulating the well or adding laterals extending past the original wellbore. A new technique achieves both in limestone formations. This technique creates pre-stimulated "tunnels" that bypass near-wellbore damage to make contact with newly exposed reservoir rock. This technology relies on hydrochloric acid's ability to dissolve limestone along with a coiled tubing bottomhole assembly made to kick over toward the formation. A nozzle then jets acid at the formation creating tunnels extending from the wellbore.

This paper describes the use of associative polymer technology (APT) to achieve fluid diversion during an acid stimulation treatment. APT involves the use of a very low viscosity aqueous polymer solution. It adsorbs immediately onto the formation surface and significantly reduces the ability of subsequent aqueous fluids to flow into high permeability portions of the rock. The first stage containing the APT predominately will enter the most permeable area, diverting following acid stage(s) to other less permeable sections of the rock.

For many years, bull head systems to reduce water production have received a great deal of attention from the oil- and gas-production industry. Previous papers have discussed the laboratory development of a new bullhead system based on a hydrophobically modified polymer. This paper will outline the field implementation of this system and will describe some of the successes (and failures) of the system.

Water production in gas wells can be a huge problem, in many cases causing premature well abandonment. Numerous techniques are used in attempts to allow continued production, including the use of foams and plunger systems. However, these techniques require continuous injection of chemicals and/or maintenance of equipment. Stopping, or slowing down, the water is another approach to the problem. This paper will discuss a bullhead polymer system which reduces the permeability to water much more than to gas.

This paper covers the newer (since 1959) developments in equipment for rod pumping in multiple completed wells. It also reviews some of the trouble with the earlier equipment and the corrective measures that have been taken.

You could hardly have picked a more important topic for a meeting of production people. Oil lifting is not only the ultimate aim of a great deal of out work in the production end of the petroleum industry, but it is also a part of the business in which some of the most important improvements and changes are being made. In oil lifting, you have to keep running these days just to keep from losing ground . . . Fortunately, however, there has been a growing awareness throughout our country that learning can be-and should be-a lifetime proposition.

To date, there have been two major automation projects in the Fullerton Clearfork Unit. The first was completed in 1956 and included 57 wells. It consisted of complete automation from the wellhead to the storage tanks with no custody transfer facilities. This, being a pioneer installation, required some changes and revisions before satisfactory operation was obtained; however, once completed it have operated satisfactory. The second project, including 51 wells, was completed in 1958.

In everyday language the term "Custody Transfer" means simply a "sale", and the Lease Automatic Custody Transfer may be defined as the unattended sale of oil by the producer from the lease tanks to the pipe line. Under this method, all the operations of gauging and thiefing the tank, or determining the BS&W content, the temperature and the gravity of oil, and finally of placing the tank on the line, normally done manually, are being performed automatically.