Improved Downhole Sand Mitigation System for Rod Pump and ESP

With the increase in horizontal completions and multi-stage sand fracturing, sand problems and the detrimental affect that arises from excess sand production have increased significantly over recent years. The simple fact remains that although both ESP and rod pumps can handle some amounts of sand, they are both liquid pumps and excessive sand production reduces system efficiency and shortens the effective life span of the pumps. This has resulted in higher maintenance costs and reduces run times which are costly to producers. Recognizing the ineffectiveness and shortcomings of current sand separators, screens, and other mitigation technologies WellWorx set out to design a more effective system to combat this problem. The result of R & D and testing has resulted in the design and deployment of the HELIX Sand Bypass for both rod pump and ESP applications. In testing, this patented design has proven to effectively mitigate the sand that enters the well bore forcing the sand to bypass into the mud anchor before entering the pump. Testing has shown that 99% of the sand that enters the well bore can be captured. This technology has been deployed in hundreds of wells in North America within the last year with zero well failures due to solids.