Sucker Rod Pump

The goal of a sucker rod is to convey the motion from the downhole pumping unit to lift fluid to the surface. When sucker rod lift is to be used on a well, it is necessary to choose the type of sucker rod that is optimal for the downhole conditions of the given well. Each sucker rod is designed to work in a specific environment, such as a corrosive or non-corrosive environment, and the loads encountered. The purpose of this paper is to report the findings on how to choose the optimal sucker rod for an application, based on a literature review.

This paper will cover topics around the polished rod component of a downhole sucker rod pump. It outlines the development and testing of a Patent-Pending polished rod design by Q2 ALS, featuring a polished rod with a sucker rod end connection on the lower end. In contrast to traditional polished rod connections, the sucker rod connection has a superior threaded design, incorporating a shoulder for the coupling to make up against, resulting in a stronger pre-loaded threaded connection.

This paper proposes an approach to diagnose pump-off condition versus gas interference condition utilizing a patented overlay of real time plunger velocity on top of the real time downhole card via pump-off controller interface. Field results showing the impact of this methodology are presented.

As operators draw down a well, massive quantities of gas are released into the wellbore which results in shut-downs and lost production. Using appropriate bottom hole assembly (BHA) best practices can help the operator pump through these gas slugs to maximize production and return on investment. Additionally, solid separation is an ongoing issue. Using a gas separator minimizes abrasion and corrosion related failures, keeping operating expenses lower.

Objectives/Scope: 
A new methodology for automatic iteration on viscous damping enhanced with state-of-the-art pump fillage, fluid load lines and valve openings and closing calculation is presented. Field results showing the impact of the methodology in diagnosing downhole conditions, improving inferred production, fluid level, pump intake and horsepower calculations are shown.

Rod lift applications in deep unconventional wells have created a wide range of new challenges for all components of the RL system. In the case of the sucker rod, the increased compressive loads, especially in the deeper tapers, combined with the deviation of the wells result in very high contact forces between rod and tubing as well as effective stresses on the rods that range from very high to negative values.

Solids in rod pumped wells are a significant cause of failures and higher operating costs. Most solids cause continuing abrasion problems that are commonly misdiagnosed in typical failure analysis programs. This paper investigates the sources and nature of these solids, the impact on failures and technologies to reduce the adverse impacts of solids on equipment. These technologies will include a better understanding of existing products as well as emerging technologies. 

Sucker rod pumping commonly requires the tubing string to be secured to the casing downhole near the pump to prevent tubing movement. Tubing movement can undesirably reduce downhole pump efficiency and/or damage the tubing and casing. Downhole tubing anchors are used for this purpose, but they can bring about risks that can increase operating expense and limit production.

Sucker rods are an essential component for rod pumping or rod lifting of oil and gas wells, but they have been limited by the use of metals and thermoset based non-metal composites (i.e., existing fiberglass sucker rods). Steel (metal) sucker rods have been limited by a low corrosion resistance, a low strength to weight ratio (i.e., too heavy), a low fatigue endurance limit and a relatively poor environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating during its lifecycle.

Pumping chemicals on wells with high fluid levels has always been a struggle on its efficiency as well as to reach the bottom of the well. This paper will go over the details of the downhole chemical technology to deliver chemical chemicals by microencapulating the chemical components into a chemical screen that is placed at the bottom of the tubing. This technology was installed in Gaines County after repeated failures on tubing due to severe scale and made a drastic improvement on the run time and production; decreased the failure rate down to nil