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A 1985 survey of 123 oil operators across the United States by an independent market research company estimated that 8% of all sucker-rod purchases were fiberglass. That same poll estimated purchases in the West Texas and Eastern New Mexico region to be 18% of the share of all sucker-rod purchases for that area. Only 8% indicated they would never consider using fiberglass sucker-rod. The increased presence of this innovative product represents a significant change in an old system.

When a load is applied to the well end of a pumping unit it results in a torque around the speed reducer crankshaft. This resultant torque is a function of the geometrical design of the unit and the crank angle. Under constant load conditions the torque is constantly changing since it varies with the crank angle.

Operating costs are but a fraction of the price per barrel of oil or cubic feet of gas we sell. In sucker rod pumping, this fraction is extremely critical and can quickly mean the difference between gain or loss to your company or yourself. Your wage or profit is derived from operating expense and gross income; therefore, it behooves each of us to properly manage operating costs so that the returns will not only come to our company but also to ourselves. A constant program of well analysis employing understanding, prudent practices and applied techniques is necessary.

The control of pumping well failures at an optimum level requires access to equipment failure and maintenance records which adequately describe performance. It is necessary to know where failures and maintenance are occurring, what equipment is involved, the location and cause of failure, the nature of maintenance and costs. Problem wells can thus be isolated and corrective measures initiated. Further, it is possible to evaluate new materials, producing practices and inhibition methods to generally improve the performance of downhole equipment in all wells.

This paper contains a brief description of the component parts of submergible pump to wells of various conditions is discussed. Operation results are reported for both oil wells and water supply wells.

In these days of budget constraints due to unstable oil and gas prices, many companies have begun purchasing more and more used production equipment, including pumping units. In some cases they have been able to reduce "up-front" capital expenditures only to later find that there can be significant costs in repairs to this same equipment. This paper will examine the precautions and considerations that should be made before the purchases are finalized.

In order to get the maximum benefit from dynamometer well studies, it is essential that all of the factors involved in the pumping problems on each individual well be viewed as a complete picture. Each factor involved should be brought into focus and fitted into the picture as a whole. Fig. 1 illustrates a mechanical polished rod dynamometer.

A successful approach to oil and gas reservoir development requires knowledge of reservoir fluid
properties. It is therefore essential to determine the fluid's Pressure-Volume-Temperature (PVT)
behavior in order to obtain the necessary parameters for proper reservoir management as well as satisfy
regulatory classification requirements. Experience has demonstrated that PVT data obtained in a
laboratory is the preferred approach to fluid property description.

This paper presents a computer based tool for those wanting to use the wave equation in their beam pumping design activities, but do not require the needs of a more sophisticated, full featured program. This program properly handles the problems faced by a person responsible for designing what could be termed normal rod pumped installations. The output of the program includes pump size, rod string, surface unit size, and motor size for an input depth and production rate. The author has found that accepted design practices are not used much of the time.

The major portion of domestic oil is produced by rod pumping systems. Of the total 527,000 domestic oil wells 403,000 are rod pumped. In 1971, $157.5 million was spent for labor and material for downhole repair of these wells. This amount does not include production losses while the wells were being serviced. In that the average pulling job cost was $418.63l it is possible that the production losses exceeded this direct maintenance cost.

Field performance of plastic coated tubular goods is directly related to the following critical factors: 1- Metal cleaning and surface preparation 2- Adhesion between coating film and metal substrate. 3- Proper curing of the coating film. 4- Continuity and uniformity of the coating film. This paper deals with the various quality control techniques that are used to assure that these critical factors are controlled within specified parameters.

The determination of the correlation between petrophysical data, and core data is essential in the determination of reservoir rock properties. The goal of this study was to design a computer algorithm, which will use the geophysical inverse theory to deduce different reservoir facies, from well log responses, by utilizing statistical relationships between the well logs and core derived lithofacies information. In most oil and gas fields only a minority of the wells are cored.

New methods for quantifying pump leakage are described. These methods extend the effectiveness of dynamometer analysis and can lessen the dependence on well tests in determining the degree of pump leakage. Actual examples are included to illustrate the techniques. A detailed description of traveling and standing valve leakage checks is also included.

Environmental stewardship has been and continues to be a critical component of the oil and gas industry, as exploitation of shale and other unconventional gas reservoirs requires large volumes of water for economic and efficient production. Evaluating and communicating the hazards of chemicals is done in a highly variable manner across the world. However the recent adoption of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) by multiple Global regulatory bodies has brought international consensus to hazard criteria and definitions.

The author describes factors contributing to poor water conditioning practices and the problems which have resulted.

The questions and issues surrounding sucker rod connection integrity and its effect on well failure rates has been around as long as the sucker rod itself.

Bosch Rexroth is a manufacturer of hydraulic drive systems and components including power units, cylinders, and electronic controls. The R7 pumping unit is a specially designed hydraulic artificial lift system for crude oil pumping or natural gas dewatering applications. It can be used in applications with rod loads between 15,000-35,000 lbs, and stroke lengths up to 236 inches. It consists of a hydraulic power unit, which is driven by an electric motor, and a hydraulic cylinder, which stands vertically on top of the well head.

Shortage of oil, rising prices and increased difficulty and expense in finding new reserves make it imperative to investigate techniques for further stimulation of wells, particularly wells with large open hole sections, or wells with poor cement jobs. With this in mind, a method was investigated that resulted in the control of the placement of stimulation fluids through the use of radioactive tracer material and Gamma ray detectors, which provided instant and continuous knowledge of the zone of entry during the entire stimulation process.

Detailed study of a field in the Slaughter area of Hockley County resulted in increased original-oil-in-place (OOIP) as compared to an earlier estimate from an internal company report (1975). An important aspect of the study was the inclusion of well logs drilled after the earlier estimate of OOIP. Log-core transforms for Compensated Neutron Logs (CNL) and Sidewall Neutron Logs (SNP) and Sonic logs were constructed. Three Old Neutron (ON) logs were normalized to improve the spatial control of the field.

For years we have known that "Long and Slow" is considered a Best Practice for rod pumped wells and that continuous running is best for ESP"s. In a perfect world we would have the ability to slow down or speed up a pump unit or ESP to match fluid inflow and to vary the speed of the up and down stroke of the rod pump system to minimize rod buckling. In reality, we design a rod pump system for 80 to 85% run time and minimize pump off pounding with a POC. Our ability to do this is often limited by pump unit or sheave size.

The Upper Devonian Woodford Shale ranges from a thickness of 0 ft to 300 ft and is found at depths of 7,000 ft to 18,000 ft in the Delaware Basin. The Woodford is thermally mature over its entire extent in New Mexico: In the deeper parts of the Delaware Basin it is in the thermogenic gas and condensate window; on the Northwest Shelf and where present on the Central Basin Platform it is in the oil window. Southeastern New Mexico is subdivided into Regions I, II and III based on the intensity of the fracture networks, thermal maturity and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) (Comer 2005).

One of the most helpful and convenient aids in the successful application of conventional beam pumping units is the American Petroleum Institute bulletin, 11 L-3, "SUCKER ROD PUMPING SYSTEM DESIGN BOOK". Expanding the work of Sucker Rod Pumping Research Inc. and the Midwest Research Institute, the API produced this set of tables (11 L3) containing literally thousands of different precalculated pumping options, or modes, generated by using a model of the wave equation applied to sucker rod pumping when using conventional beam units.

Reservoir simulation has typically been applied to only the larger and more complicated reservoirs. The cost of performing such studies in a Unix/Workstation environment is high and most fields are not analyzed using reservoir simulation. Highpower inexpensive PCs, and software with a powerful, user-friendly interface that does not require a simulation expert has changed the economics of performing such studies to such an extent that engineers and geologists are now using PC-based reservoir simulation to evaluate exploration plays on a teal-time basis.

The openhole drillstem test (DST) has changed little in the last 30 years; however, pressure-transient analysis recently has made significant advancements. Modern electromagnetic telemetry systems are the basis for an economical method of transmitting pressure and temperature readings in real time." Improvements in information technology now allow advanced on-site analysis. This paper provides an overview of an openhole test, describes the components used during real-time analysis, and discusses the case history for a real-time job in Andrews County, TX.

The experience gained from many years of computerized analysis of dynamometer records combined with very powerful portable computers, advanced modeling software, advanced graphical user interface and wireless datab acquisition systems allow the visualization of the operation of the rod pump in real time. The operator directly observes and determines at a glance whether the pumping system is operating efficiently or requires modification or remedial intervention. The majority of the analysis is performed automatically and does not require evaluation of numerical results by the user.