David P. Inwood & WM. J. Shields, General Electric Co.
The fundamental criteria for a good electrical system is delivery of electrical energy at a satisfactory level. How to allocate voltage drop and benefits from proper application of capacitors is explained. Optimum voltage spread results in minimum total cost.
Jack C. Williams, National Tank Company
Oil and condensate producers can significantly increase their revenue by using skid-mounted, portable lease-type packaged gasoline plants to remove hydrocarbon liquids from wet lease gas streams. The 500-3,000 MCFD capacity units are easily maintained and operated by lease pumpers since only conventional oil field equipment is involved. Recovery has varied from 33.5 bbls. Per MMCF on high pressure separator gas streams, to 144.5 bbls. Per MMCF on treater gas streams. This article describes typical application and operation of the lease type plants.
I.J. Slay & W.L. Jenkins, Waukesha Sales & Service, Inc.
Gas engines can be leased for a fixed monthly fee, including complete maintenance. In many cases this leasing service is the most economical method of lifting crude oil.
Alex Rodriguez, BP; Katherine Gallagher, Pioneer Natural Resources
A growing majority of oil and gas fields in North America are mature or heavily depleted proposing many challenges for economic production. Low reservoir pressures, along with liquid loading, have become some of the main hurdles to overcome when attempting to economically produce natural gas. Deliquifying wells using artificial lift has become a prominent method used to tackle these issues. This paper discusses the challenges faced in the Oil and Gas industry with an eye to deliquifying mature or depleted reservoirs.
GENERATIONS OF SOAP STICK LAUNCHER AND FUTURE AUTOMATIONS
In a few short years the delivery of chemical products has been one of the fastest growing technologies in the oil and gas industries. From acid sticks, corrosion inhibitors, and specialty soap sticks, an evolution of several generations of chemical delivery has evolved into near total automation that has proven to be safe, efficient, and cost effective. From dismantling equipment and using laundry detergents to automated chemical stick launchers, the new generation dispenses chemicals according to the gas wells needs and predetermined chemical protocol for individual gas wells.
WELL TESTING USING A ROD PUMP CONTROLLER
Well tests are crucial to managing rod pumped wells, and operators struggle to get tests as frequently as they desire. A method has been developed using the down hole pump card generated by a Rod Pump Controller that has proven to be accurate and reliable. The method will be explained and data will be presented from field tests showing actual well tests compared to the well test from the Rod Pump Controller.
Philip Nguyen and Jim Trela and Billy R. Smith, Halliburton
The use of curable resin pre-coated proppants was often applied in the Permian Basin area to control proppant flowback. However, these pre-coated proppant materials continued to allow propopant to produce back, especially during production surges because they did not provide sufficient consolidation strength to handle high drawdown. Since early 2005, a low-temperature curable liquid resin system was selected to treat the proppant on-the-fly mainly during the tail-in stages in most of 1,500 hydraulic fracturing treatments.
Pat Ennis, Priority Power Management
The deregulation of the Texas electric utilities has created many opportunities and challenges for oil and gas producers. Questions continue to be asked regarding how oil & gas producers will purchase power. With the enactment of 1999's Senate Bill 7, electricity buyers are beginning to find out the "devil is truly in the details".
Jim Gardner, FreeWave
Companies with large geographically dispersed networks, such as those in the oil and gas industry, can select one technology, one source, one vendor, to collect, retrieve, report data, and to assess the health of the network. Sometimes, this type of approach makes sense. However, other times integrating other types of technologies offer significant benefits that can easily and more cost-effectively be incorporated into one cohesive network. In fact, the days of building large, unmanageable networks are behind us.
Michael Raines, Kinder Morgan CO, Co. LP
The 2.8 Billion Barrel (Original Oil in Place) SACROC Unit is located in Scurry County, Texas and produces from the Pennsylvanian-aged Cisco and Canyon Formations of the Kelly-Snyder and Diamond M Fields. This Unit has had a colorful history, with discovery shortly after World War 11, nearly half a century of waterflooding, three decades of tertiary development, and a wide variety of operators and philosophies. Since the time of SACROC's early CO, efforts, local experience and industry practices have contributed greatly to our knowledge of CO, flooding in general.
David Gregg, Multi Products Company & Ron C. Bishop, Conoco
THERE ARE CURRENTLY SEVERAL THOUSAND CASING PLUNGER LIFT SYSTEMS INSTALLED IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. THEY RANGE FROM VERY SUCCESSFUL TO FAILURES. THIS PAPER IS AN ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN WHY THIS HAS BECOME THE CASE AND TO DELINIATE ISSUES OF WHERE TO APPLY THIS TECHNOLOGY. THE APPLICATION OF THIS TYPE OF artificial lift DESIGN MUST REQUIRE THE USE OF SOME PLANNING THAT IS NOT COMMON TO THE NORMAL TUBING PLUNGER LIFT DESIGNS. THERE ARE FEW SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE TUBING PLUNGERS AND THEIR CONCEPT OF OPERATION AND WHAT OCCURS WITH THE CASING PLUNGER AND ITS OPERATIONAL CONCEPT.
J.F. Keating & J.W. Jennings, Texas A&M University & J.B. West, M.W. Instruments
There are several ways to reduce the lifting cost of a sucker rod pumping unit. One way is to reduce maintenance. Another way is to "tune-up" the unit. A simple way to "tune-up" the unit is to balance it properly. A unit that is balanced properly will produce fluids more economically by reducing the electrical power loss. Therefore, by balancing all the units in a field the electrical power loss will be reduced but the maintenance will be increased. Consequently, a method that minimizes the maintenance needed to balance a unit is desirable.
J.B. West, M.W. Instruments; J.F. Keating & J.W. Jennings, Texas A&M University
There are several ways to reduce the lifting cost of a sucker rod pumping unit. One way is to reduce maintenance. Another way is to "tune-up" the unit. A simple way to "tune-up" the unit is to balance it properly. A unit that is balanced properly will produce fluids more economically by reducing the electrical power loss. Therefore, by balancing all the units in a field the electrical power loss will be reduced but the maintenance will be increased. Consequently, a method that minimizes the maintenance needed to balance a unit is desirable.
L.H. Eilers, Dowell Division of Dow Chemical
Most light weight systems are produced by increasing the amount of water used with each sack of cement. To produce a uniform slurry with this additional water: pozzolans, clays or silicates may be added or fine grinding of the cement composition may be used. These systems, using water as the light weight ingredient have similar ultimate strengths and permeabilities for similar densities. Early strength development as well as ultimate strength and permeability depend on the temperature to which the cement is subjected.
Mike Gerstner, Randall Edgeman, Scott Nelson and Mark Malone, BJ Services Company, USA
The well stimulation process of hydraulic fracturing has existed in the oil & gas industry for over 50 years. During this time, many innovations and technologies have been employed that have substantially enhanced the process. In recent history, the industry has focused on the creation of cleaner fracturing fluids, while propping agents have remained relatively unchanged. Recently, water frac treatments have found success in some niche areas. The widespread use of water fracs has lead to the research of improved proppant transport and the subsequent development of lightweight proppants.
Anthony Welker, Santa Fe Energy Resources
This paper discusses the occurrence and characteristics of lightning-related phenomenon, and the damage which it may cause to commonly used oilfield equipment such as tank batteries, power lines and transformers, ESP systems, drilling rigs and pulling units. The paper provides some considerations when deciding if a lightning protection system is warranted for a given facility and it presents some guidelines in the design of practical "Brute-force" protection methods, using a blend of published research from non-petroleum industries and operational experience in the oilfield.
David Skinner, AMOCO Production Co.
For many years, the problem of protecting electrical systems from lightning discharges has plagued power and communications engineers. Only within the past few decades has lightning been a problem to engineers dealing with electrical power systems in oilfields. The problem of lightning protection in West Texas oilfields is unique due to the high concentration of elevated high-voltage lines above flat plains that attract lightning discharges.
W.D. Cunningham, Southwestern Public Service Company
This paper is a report of methods used by Southwestern Public Service Company to reduce momentary interruptions due to lightning. This required the determination of the optimum spacing of arresters to protect distribution lines from lightning by applying arrester stations to two different locations in the same area. Each line represents a different average spacing of arrester stations. These lines are compared to a shielded line and an unprotected line, also in the same area.
Christopher Schmidt, Unico, Inc., Rich Larson, Red River Resources
The LRP
H. Ed Lindsey, MWL Tool & Supply Co.
A liner is any string of casing with its top below the surface of the well. Previous papers have been written on the subject of liner cementing, but most of these papers on liners have emphasized their use in deep wells. Simpler uses of liner cementing equipment should also be discussed, since greater numbers of liners have been run in shallow-to moderate depth wells than in deeper wells. A discussion on conventional and special liner cementing jobs with illustrations of the equipment for these jobs is included in this paper.
E.N. Glenn, Halliburton Company
The Long Life Technique is a revival of an old cementing practice whereby cement slurry is placed in the well and casing is then lowered into the cement. Recent development of cement additives has appreciably widened the range of well conditions in which this technique can be employed. Difficulties are often encountered when planning and performing liner primary cementing jobs in projects where the annulus is unusually small and in projects where the open hold portion of the well is not sufficiently competent to support the hydrostatic weight of a high fluid column.
H. Ed Lindsey, MW/Lindsey Completion Systems
Twice before, at the 1977, and 1981 Southwestern Petroleum Short Course I presented papers on liner cementing equipment and techniques. In the first paper I explained a method of rotating liners while cementing and reported that not many liners were being rotated; probably about 1 in 30 jobs were rotated or reciprocated. In 1981 I gave a paper explaining why a new sealed bearing made the rotation of liners more reliable; but still only 10% or less liners were being moved while cementing-rotated or reciprocated.
Segun Ogunsanya, Xiaodong Zhao & Lloyd Heinze, Texas Tech University & Doug Walser, BJ Services Co.
While liquid additives are used in offshore & international cementing operations, land-based operations use a bulk-drybatch- mixed process. Additives control cement volumetric yield, thickening time, compressive strength, free water, rheology, and fluid loss control.
Moin Khan, C-E Natco
Over the years, considerable work has been done in evaluating wellhead equipment options available to the producer which will optimize the recovery of hydrocarbon liquids from Gas-Distillate wells. The value of these have been such that reasonable payouts of the liquid recovery facilities have been generally attributed to the various types of wellhead processing schemes. As these liquids become more valuable, some options which require additional capital investment may now present satisfactory amortization which a few years ago would not have.
W.T. Hagler, West Texas Engineering Service, Inc.
The liquid level recorder saves time and labor and insures more accurate data. A general utility recorder, it is simple to operate, inexpensive, yet extremely sensitive and accurate. It is used in the oil field for the primary purpose of recording the production of oil and/or water into the test tank or stock tank.