Why Sucker Rod Beam

Pumping
Identifying Sucker Rod Beam
Pumping Well Candidates
 Who Uses Sucker Rod Pumps
Worldwide there are 894,000
producing oil wells

Of these 894,000 producing oil

wells, 843,000 (94%) produce via
Artificial Lift
 Who Uses Sucker Rod Pumps
The worldwide distribution by lift type is very
roughly:

674,000 - Sucker Rod Beam Pump

(SRBP - 80%)
66,000 - Gas Lift (GL 8%)
66,000 - Electrical Submersible
Pump (ESP 8%)
37,000 - Progressive Cavity Pump
(PCP),
Jet Pump (JP),
Hydraulic Submersible (HSP)
(Total 4%)
 6000
Rod Pumping Range
5000
Production (BFPD)

4000

3000

2000

1000

0
1 2 4 6 8 10 12 16
Depth (ft x 1000)
How Much?
and
How Deep?
 Issues
Flow rate (existing and desired)
Formation depth
Formation pressure
Well deviation and dog leg severity
Oil gravity and viscosity
Nastiness (sand, paraffin, CO2, H2S)
 Field Development Parameters
Onshore or Offshore
Existing infrastructure such as the availability
of gas or electricity
What well production rates are desired or
calculated with the overall Field exploitation
considered
Distance to service support location
Economics of field and expected field life
 Determining if Sucker Rod Beam
Pumping is Best
Because of the large range of production
capabilities, Sucker Rod Beam Pumping will
apply to more wells than most believe
Typically Sucker Rod Beam Pump application
should be eliminated before Other Systems are
design attempted due to low maintenance and
long life of the system
If Sucker Rod Beam Pumping works for a
particular application, it should be selected and
other forms of AL ignored
 Why Sucker Rod Pump
The beam pumping system is simple and easy to
understand yet is rugged and will stand up to abuse.

From an efficiency standpoint, it is one of the most, if not

the most, efficient forms of artificial lift - up to 58-60%
when optimized.

It is forgiving - that is, one can misapply rod pumping

and still produce fluid from the well. It will not fail
immediately. For example, if you over produce a well
the rod pumping system will pull the fluid down to the
pump setting and begin pounding fluid. At that point it
would be noticeable to a operator and the pumping
system can be adjusted to the proper
configuration. Note that the system did not immediately
fail but rather gave the operator time to make
adjustments. Other systems would have failed after
pumping the fluid off.
 Why Sucker Rod Pump
Rod pumping is capable of producing the lowest down
hole pressure. The pump needs only a few psi to
fill. Also, low down hole pressure allows more fluid to
flow into the well bore.

Excellent diagnostic equipment and software exist for

beam pumping, which means the operator knows how all
parts of the system are performing. This allows for
optimization of the system for best performance.

The equipment has a relatively high resale value and

some components of the system have a very long life
and can be moved from well to well.

Expert software for predicting the performance of a

beam pumping system has proven to be very accurate.
 The Bathtub Curve
Hypothetical Failure Rate versus Time

Infant Normal End of Life

Increased Failure Rate

Mortality Life Wear-Out

Time
 What causes infant mortality
Material defects
Inferior Designs or Design Blunders
Errors in assembly / installation
Lack of care & attention during
operation poor maintenance
Operator error misapplication
Company Inexperience
 What is Achievable????
This Training will help you better
understand the different components of the
Sucker Rod Beam Pumping System
This Training will introduce the thought
processes that must go into the Design of
the Sucker Rod Beam Pumping System
Longer System Life Through Proper Design
and a Reduction of Misapplication Failures
Should Result