(2023003) Novel Rod Pump Control for Wells with Complex Pumping Conditions

When operating rod pumps, it is important to match the volume displaced by the pump to the inflow from the reservoir. By doing so, downhole pressure is minimized, thus maximizing production, while keeping mechanical damage and power consumption to a minimum. Various devices such as time clocks, pump-off controllers or variable frequency drives have been adopted in the industry to achieve this goal. While they operate based on different principles and might be suitable for different types of assets, all of them seek to curtail the volume displaced by the pump to achieve pump off while avoiding fluid pound. 

However, the precise tuning of these devices can be challenging and a lot of setpoint management is often done on a customary basis rather than from rigorous analysis. For wells exhibiting simple pump-off situations, this is adequate as the entire production can be realized at near optimal pump fillage. However, many wells (for instance modern horizontal ones with long laterals) exhibit more complex flow patterns, effectively implying a tradeoff between maximizing production and avoiding damaging pumping conditions. When this happens, the optimal operating regime will depend on the precise quantification of the trade-off, commodity prices and the specific circumstances of each well. 

In this presentation, we present empirical data showing that such instances are not mere anomalies, but in fact frequent cases. Furthermore, we introduce novels approaches in terms of data collection and control algorithms allowing us to quantify those trade-offs and maximize well production.