Sucker Rod Pump

This presentation will discuss a new method of locking out beam pumping unit using a patented and engineered hydraulic sheave lock to support reducing risk at the well site when the pumping unit is shut down for routine maintenance or workovers. It will explore merits of keeping workers entirely out of the swing zone, allowing personnel to accomplish tasks safely and easily, without risk of brake cable failure or slippage resulting in movement of the counterweights.

The objective of this paper is to share insights on mitigating sucker rod corrosion damage in vertical, horizontal and deviated wells with aggressive corrosive conditions such as H2S and CO2, particularly those with histories of corrosion-related rod/tubing failures.

With today’s highly dynamic unconventional wells, gas separation is essential after the conversion from electric submersible pumps (ESPs) to rod lift. Unconventional wells in the Permian Basin have high initial rates with steep declines rates, which result in a high gas-to-liquid ratio very early in the life of the well. As the reservoir pressure draws down below bubble point pressure, increasing volumes of free gas begin to break out of solution.

Failures due to Rod wear and tubing wear account together for an approximate range between 50% to 70% of the OPEX in Rod Lifted systems. Industry has made significant improvements by separating the steel components during their relative movement by using different materials in between them and as sacrifice components. The rod guide is one of them and it comes today in several shapes and compositions. One of those compositions, and the most successful one, is the plastic guide.

For decades sucker rod pump artificially lifted wells have used devices called pump off controllers (POC) to match the pumping unit’s runtime to the available reservoir production by idling the well for a set time where variable frequencies drives are not available. In doing this the POC allows the well to enter a set period of downtime when the downhole pump fillage is incomplete to avoid premature failures, and then brings the well back online to operate before production is lost.

Production performance monitoring has existed in Rod Lift Artificial Lift for decades, however there has lacked any action based on performance parameters. The Total Production Real Time (TPRT) Monitoring System incorporates data acquisition with artificial intelligence and automation to provide safer production operations for personnel and environment. TPRT collects live production data at surface on Rod BOPs, Stuffing Boxes, and Rod Rotators then drives actuation based on performance outside of expected performance parameters.

Black Mamba Rod Lift’s helical centralizer stabilizes the rod string during pumping chaos. Chaos is understood as sucker rod buckling and negative loading (compression), which is impossible to eliminate in beam lift wells. The source of compression is often from nature (gas interference, fluid pound, gas pound) but can be operator induced (seating the pump, pump tagging), or compression as part of the pumping method and operation (pump friction, fluid load transition).

With the increase in the number of horizontal wells drilled in the past 15 years, the technology for predicting downhole conditions and troubleshooting problem wells has not kept up with the increased complexity of these deeper and deviated wellbores. The systems in use are no longer accurate or sensitive enough to determine what is causing the problem(s) resulting in shorter meantime between failure and higher workover cost to the operators.

Surface coatings are commonly used in many industries including oil and gas; with the aim of hardening the part surfaces to improve wear resistance without compromising the corrosion resistance -or even improve when applicable. Sucker rod pumps employ several parts with coated surfaces as well, including the pump barrels. Both standardized surface modifications and specialty applications for pump barrels are readily available in market for different well conditions, including extreme well solids and H2S and CO2 service.

The use of martensitic alloys in sucker rod applications has several significant advantages over ferritic-pearlitic alloys. Processing differences in making the different microstructures will be discussed, along with the resulting property and performance differences. An evaluation of the guidelines for optimal strength in various corrosive environments will be provided. Studies on the fatigue performance of martensitic and ferritic steels will be presented.