Brad Goldsmith, Production Systems
Given the dynamic nature of production for an oil well and the magnitude of the lifting cost, there are few opportunities with a better payoff than reviewing the total rod system designi-2. However, with the current trend of increased well count and responsibility for the engineer and field personnel, it is often one of the things for which there is never enough time. Even with a shelf full of technical manuals, books, forms, and programs to calculate everything from pumping unit and rod loads to sheave and belt sizing, designing all of the components of the rod system is a very time-consuming operation. " TOTAL ROD " system design is a LOTUS 123 n based template for efficient rod system design and management. It allows numerous combinations of all operating conditions to be considered simultaneously in one program. Calculations are performed for: API RP 11L loads s for Conventional, Mark II, Air Balance, and C M I units based on conventional RPllL tables (or based on tables generated by the wave equation model 4 of Shell Oil Company), sinker bars, producing and static bottom hole pressures based on fluid levels 5 corrected for gas in fluid or foam, production capacity based on producing and static pressures and reservoir drive, belt and sheave sizes, daily pump time, electrical cost, mud anchor and gas anchor sizes and placement, and total system efficiency. "TOTAL ROD" allows multiple runs to be considered in detail and in a fraction of the time. The spreadsheet format of LOTUS 123 presents the runs side by side and provides graphics and data management capabilities.