Paper: Evidence Of The Cause Of Sucker Rod Failures

In 1973 and 1974, the petroleum industry experienced shortages of many items which formerly had been available at a reasonable cost. Not the least of these items are sucker rods. Prior to 1972, manufacturers were producing several types of rods in rather large quantities. From time to time, these rods were sold at "bargain basement" prices to reduce their inventories. During this same time, prior to 1972, pulling units were available usually on a day's notice, to do well work at competitive rates. Sucker rod failures and replacement of sucker rods were more of a nuisance to operators than a large expense. This pre-1972 atmosphere of plenty no longer prevails. Not only has the price of sucker rods increased 60%, but at times the size and type of rod needed is not available. It is also sometimes days or weeks before pulling units are available to fish, pull or repair sucker rod failures in a well. It has become imperative that a concentrated effort be made to eliminate as many sucker rod failures as possible, not only to reduce the direct expense of repair but also downtime and loss of current income. This paper presents one approach to the problem of trying to minimize sucker rod failures.