The Panacea Pump Tool

Gas interference and sand production are two of the biggest challenges for operators of sucker-rod pumped wells in southeast New Mexico's Delaware Basin. This paper will discuss the re-application of an old sucker-rod pump tool that solves both of these problems. The Panacea Pump Tool, which can be installed on any rod pump with a pin threaded barrel, consists of a hollowed out rod-pump extension coupling. A cavity created by the tool maintains a minimum liquid level in the pump barrel, which reduces gas interference and breaks gas lock. The cavity also provides continual cleaning of particle buildup from iron sulfide and sand that can wear on a pump's plunger, similar to stroke through pump designs. Pump off control has been critical to the resurrection of this technology. Numerous, repeatable successes in some of Texaco's toughest producing environments have made the Panacea Pump Tool the pump upgrade of choice.