Paper - Lufkin - Rod Pumping Deviated Wells
Paper - Lufkin - Rod Pumping Deviated Wells
Paper - Lufkin - Rod Pumping Deviated Wells
Jun Xu, Ken Nolen, Dennis Shipp, Andy Cordova, Sam Gibbs
Lufkin Automation
Abstract Introduction
More and more directional wells are being drilled A greater number of deviated wells are being drilled
to maximize hydrocarbon recovery and overcome to increase production rates, and to minimize cost
environmental restriction.Todays state-of-the-art and ecological damage. Sucker rod pumping has been
predictive software for rod pumping can be used an efcient method in vertical wells and is becoming
to design and optimize rod pumping in deviated more and more common in deviated wells. During
wells as well as vertical wells. Previously, traditional the last several decades, the deviated well was
methods, including wave equation techniques, presumed to be a vertical well in the design and
assume that the wellbore is vertical. Applying these diagnosis of rod pumping well, which is based on the
methods to rod pumping in deviated wells and in one-dimensional, viscous-damped wave-equation
unintentionally deviated (crooked) wells will result computerized model.Yet the model for vertical well
in substantial errors and cause inappropriate design. is imprecise and not valid for a crooked-hole or a
The new technique considers a deviation survey for deviated well. In 1992, the 3-D deviated well model
the 3-D borehole trajectory and rod/tubing drag based on the modied version of wave equation was
friction in the predictive design method.This paper originally developed by Dr. Sam Gibbs and has been
examines a real case for a severely deviated well by successfully incorporated into Lufkin Automations
using the new software, showing the best practices SROD1 rod pumping predictive and design program.
and optimization. Later, Lufkin Automation developed and released a
new version of the rod pumping diagnostic program,
DIAG, which uses a similar model and algorithm as
SROD for diagnosing deviated wells.2 This paper
presents the new wave equation methodology that
incorporates both viscous friction and drags friction.
A design procedure for intentionally deviated well is
presented. Rod guide design is studied. Some other
important concerns such as drag friction, guide
friction coefcient, buckling and dogleg servility are
discussed. Finally, the effect of designing an optimum
wellbore path before the well is drilled is examined.
The criteria for buckling is that if the rod buckling 10-rod sections for the purpose of practical eld
tendency, which includes rod dynamics effect, is installation. Rod guides may be required in a vertical
greater than Fcritical, then the rods can be expected well too where buckling tendency is higher than
to buckle. However, Equation 2 is only applicable to tolerable. If so, buckling tendency plot is useful to
vertical wells. perform rod guide design.
Rod Guide Design Several lab tests indicated that the asymmetrical
molded guide spacing allowed higher critical Eulers
In rod pumping wells, the most expensive routine load to buckle the rod than did the symmetrical
well-servicing cost is the repair of tubing leaks. molded guide spacing. Based on the lab
In many cases, this wear is caused by side loads from observations, it is recommended that at least one
a deviated wellbore. Also, if rod buckling on the molded guide should be closed to end of rod
downstroke is occurring, rod/tubing wear can result, coupling by about 15 in.3
which is typically near the pump. Although there are
a few options to reduce rod/tubing wear, rod guides Drag and Viscous Friction
along with keeping full pump condition could
possibly be the most practical and the most cost- Bare rod friction coefcient is the coefcient of
effective method of controlling rod buckling and Coulomb friction between bare rod and tubing.
rod/tubing wear problems. Basically, the rod guides Coefcient of friction (COF) times the side load
act as a sacricial component to center the rod (normal force between the tubing and a sucker rod)
string in the tubing so that wear on the is equal to the frictional drag force on the sucker
rods/couplings and the tubing is minimized. However, rod.The bare rod COF default value is 0.2.The COF
different rod guide design criteria has existed in the depends on the type of materials that are rubbing,
industry for a long time. One method, the trial and the roughness of the surface and the lubricity (oil
error method, uses a statistical well failure database. versus water, etc.) This value can range from about
A well with similar conditions and equipped with 0.1 (oil lubricant and smooth surfaces) to about 0.3
rod guides is applied to a well that is not currently (water lubricant and rough surfaces).The COF can
installed with rod guides. If the failure frequency or be computed from dynamometer valve checks6 or
rod guide wear is greater than predicted, then more determined experimentally by trial and error. A trial
guides are added the next time a failure occurs. and error solution requires a dynamometer
Apparently, not only is it quite a costly method, but diagnostic analysis (DIAG) and selecting a COF for
it is also generally limited by the amount of the design program (SROD) that results in good
information in the database. Other methods based agreement between the design and diagnostic
on buckling tendency and the static lab test are analysis.
introduced in papers [3] and [4].
Ratio of guide friction to bare rod friction is used to
Rod guide design technology has been built into adjust bare rod friction if rod guides are installed.
SROD application which can be integrated with the When guides are added in the rod string, the relative
comprehensive wave equation solution, combining friction effects of various guides are expressed as
rod dynamics, rod and guide properties, side load, ratios to the frictional effects of bare rods.The
rod frictions (viscous and drag), rod buckling, various friction ratio default value for molded guides is 1.5,
pump modes and actions, surface unit motion, and which indicates that molded guides increase friction
motor characteristics.Thus, rod guide design and by 50% when compared to bare rods.The default
buckling consideration are based on a real dynamic value for wheeled guides is 0.1, which indicates
condition.The maximum side load on each rod is wheeled guides will lower friction by 90% when
calculated, and it is used to determine if the guide is compared to bare rods. For example, if the
needed and how many rod guides are needed. coefcient of friction for bare rods in a given well
Based on the detail rod guide design, the program with a certain lubricity is 0.2, the coefcient of
simplies the rod guide design with a maximum of friction of molded guides in the same well will be
reduced to 98% with a 0.9 service factor.With the pump capacity is increased 23% and equipment
faster pumping speed the buckling tendency remains loading is reduced substantially. Lower equipment
constant at 200 lbs from pump friction only. Figures loads and reduced rod/tubing wear (lower side
8 to 10 are side load, drag load and dogleg severity loads) will greatly reduce repair and maintenance
plots, respectively. costs. Meanwhile, 11 guides per rod are required for
taper 3 before the wellbore path is optimized.
However, if the well is over-displaced and a uid After optimization of the wellbore path, only three
pound develops (85% pump llage) a buckling guides per rod are needed for this section.When
tendency as high as 1006 lbs is predicted 960 ft the well path is carefully planned and controlled, the
above pump. See Figure 11. costs in power, repair and maintenance can be
reduced and some problems related to deviated well
The region subject to buckling extends over the can be eliminated. Some deviated wells thought to
entire 78-in. rods at the bottom and peaks 1006 lbs be infeasible with rod pumping equipment can now
in the 34-in. rods. Equation 2 gives: be lifted.
w 1.634_(10.128)1.425 lbs/ft
Conclusions
I d4/640.02878 (in4)
1. A modied version of the wave equation
method has been developed, which considers
Fcritical
3
0.795EI ( w)2/144 rod/tubing side loads and drag for deviated
38 (lbs) 1006 (lbs). wells.
the pump.
with a max angle building rate of 3
/100 ft. It is
predicted that monthly power charge for this
wellbore is $1571 per month, and the rods and unit
are overloaded. See Table 5. An improved wellbore
path shows an angle building rate of 1
/100 ft until
the maximum inclination of 38
and then reaches to
the target at an inclination of 14
. Power cost for
this improved path is $1222/month (29% savings),
3. Shellenberger F.A. and Foley W.L.: Rod Guide 7. Long S.W. and Bennett D.W.: Euler Loads and
Theory, Spacing Methodology, and Field Measured Sucker Rod / Sinkerbar Buckling SPE
Application, Southwestern Petroleum Short paper 35214 presented at the Permian Basin Oil
Course, 1998. and Gas Recovery Conference, Midland,Texas,
March 2729 1996.
Coefcient of Friction
Prime Mover
G. E. 100 HP KOF
Speed Variation (%) 15.5 Cyclic Load Factor 1.741
Power Required (hp) 92 Motor Load (% of Rating) 92
Sheave Ratio (Unit/Prime Mover) 7.464
Pumping Unit
Lufkin M1280-427-216 with MRO Cranks (CC Wise)
Actual Max Load (lbs) 44144 Actual Min Load (lbs) 14082
Pumping Speed (spm) 5.48 Motor Load (% of Rating) 103.4
Polished Rod Power (hp) 47.5 Computed Surface Stroke (in) 215.9
Greater Reducer
Existing In Balance
Rod String
Diameter (in.) Length (ft) Rod Type Rod Loading Guides
Downhole Pump
Bore Size (in.) 1.5 Setting Depth (ft) 11076
Tubing Stretch 0.9 Lost Displacement (bpd) 1
Pump Intake Pressure (psi) 100 Pump Spacing Guide (in.) N/A
Tubing Size (in) 2.875 Tubing Anchor Location (ft) 10578
Tubing Gradient (psi/ft) 0.427 Pump Fillage (%) 99
Dyno Service and Pump Cards and Permissible Loads Reducer Torque vs. Rod Position
50000 1500
40000 1000
Torque (in-lbs)
30000
500
Load (lbs)
20000
0
10000
500
0
10000 1000
0 50 100 150 200 250 0 50 100 150 200 250
Position (in) Position (in)
Prime Mover
G. E. 100 HP KOF
Speed Variation (%) 13.8 Cyclic Load Factor 1.822
Power Required (hp) 81 Motor Load (% of Rating) 81
Sheave Ratio (Unit/Prime Mover) 7.505
Pumping Unit
Lufkin M1280-427-216 with MRO Cranks (CC Wise)
Actual Max Load (lbs) 41282 Actual Min Load (lbs) 14286
Pumping Speed (spm) 5.49 Motor Load (% of Rating) 96.7
Polished Rod Power (hp) 40 Computed Surface Stroke (in) 215.9
Greater Reducer
Existing In Balance
Rod String
Diameter (in.) Length (ft) Rod Type Rod Loading Guides
Downhole Pump
Bore Size (in.) 1.5 Setting Depth (ft) 11076
Tubing Stretch 0 Lost Displacement (bpd) 0
Pump Intake Pressure (psi) 100 Pump Spacing Guide (in.) N/A
Tubing Size (in.) 2.875 Tubing Anchor Location (ft) 11076
Tubing Gradient (psi/ft) 0.427 Pump Fillage (%) 99
Dyno Service and Pump Cards and Permissible Loads Reducer Torque vs. Rod Position
50000 1500
40000 1000
Torque (in-lbs)
30000
500
Load (lbs)
20000
0
10000
500
0
10000 1000
0 50 100 150 200 250 0 50 100 150 200 250
Position (in) Position (in)
Prime Mover
G. E. 100 HP KOF
Speed Variation (%) 13.7 Cyclic Load Factor 1.496
Power Required (hp) 82.7 Motor Load (% of Rating) 82.7
Sheave Ratio (Unit/Prime Mover) 5.983
Pumping Unit
Lufkin M1280-427-216 with MRO Cranks (CC Wise)
Actual Max Load (lbs) 39426 Actual Min Load (lbs) 13087
Pumping Speed (spm) 6.83 Motor Load (% of Rating) 92.3
Polished Rod Power (hp) 49.2 Computed Surface Stroke (in) 215.9
Greater Reducer
Existing In Balance
Rod String
Diameter (in.) Length (ft) Rod Type Rod Loading Guides
Downhole Pump
Bore Size (in.) 1.25 Setting Depth (ft) 11076
Tubing Stretch 0.6 Lost Displacement (bpd) 1
Pump Intake Pressure (psi) 100 Pump Spacing Guide (in.) N/A
Tubing Size (in.) 2.875 Tubing Anchor Location (ft) 10578
Tubing Gradient (psi/ft) 0.427 Pump Fillage (%) 100
Dyno Service and Pump Cards and Permissible Loads Reducer Torque vs. Rod Position
50000 1500
40000 1000
Torque (in-lbs)
30000
500
Load (lbs)
20000
0
10000
500
0
10000 1000
0 50 100 150 200 250 0 50 100 150 200 250
Position (in) Position (in)
Table 5. Performance Comparison for Different Wellbore Path Selection (Before and After Optimization)
50
30
20 0
20
30
50
Looking North
3-D Wellbore Path
Figure 3. 3-D Wellbore Plot for the Studied Well Figure 4. Looking North Borehole Path
(ft)
South
Figure 5. Looking East Borehole Path Figure 6. Looking Down Borehole Path
Interval : 10
Diam (in.) : .875
Measured Depth
. A Deviated Well
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5000
10,000
15,000
Side Load (lbs/rod)
5000
15,000
Drag Load (lbs/rod) Dogleg Severity (deg/100 ft)
Interval : 9
Diam (in.) : .75
. A Deviated Well
01-07-2005, 3:21:47 PM