Lifting Cost Reduction From Dynamic Balancing

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. This paper presents a method that will minimize the maintenance needed to dynamically balance a unit. This efficient balancing method uses the motor current, the unit geometry and the dynamometer card to reduce the magnitude of current or power fluctuations experienced by an electrically driven system. In other words, the closer the RMS current approaches an average current, the smaller the electrical power loss. Therefore, reducing the power loss with a minimum amount of maintenance will in turn reduce the lifting cost of a sucker rod pumping unit.