Courtney Richardson, Oxy
Taylor Krenek, LSI
The challenges frequently associated with Endless Rod applications primarily arise from corrosion, particularly mechanical corrosion where the inhibitor film is removed, leading to inadequate protection and allowing corrosion to develop. Barrier coatings can protect the rod from corrosion, preventing the formation of stress risers on the rod surface that, under cyclic loading, can easily propagate across the rod body until there is insufficient section to sustain the load, causing it to fail. Industry studies have demonstrated that certain coatings reduce rod/tubing contact friction, resulting in lower axial loads in rod pump applications. Furthermore, reduced friction has the potential to decrease tubing wear in more aggressive environments.
KeBond Technology incorporates an extruded bonded composite design derived from an engineered thermoplastic (Polyketone) outer coating that is resistant to aggressive oilfield fluids and can withstand elevated temperatures. The bonded high-strength design enables servicing at high loads and associated depths, significantly expanding the historical operating envelope, allowing deployment in deeper unconventional rod pumping applications. We will present performance data highlighting axial load reductions, runtime improvements, and other successes identified along the way. The dataset highlighted was generated from a Permian case study with KeBond Technology installed in Oxy’s unconventional wells with extremely deviated wellbores, high production requirments, highly corrosive fluid properties, and challenging operational conditions.