Particulate Problem Solutions for Rod Pumped Producing Wells

Abstract

Abstract Sand and other fluid entrained particulates can cause substantial operational problems for rod pumped producing wells. These problems take the form of down-hole pump wear, plunger sticking, and/or catastrophic breakage of pump components. A six year study of 600+ pump investigations shows that problems with particulates account for a substantial number of the total barrel and plunger failures. Many of these failures could have been avoided through the proper application of API and special pump designs as well as certain choices of pump variables. These pump variables and designs will be addressed along with operating parameters. How hard is sand? How large is it? Should plunger and barrel choices take these variables into account? Also, metal plungers must "slip" fluid for proper lubrication. Too much slippage leads to pump inefficiencies. However, down-hole pump efficiencies based on slippage need to be balanced against pump longevity due to proper selection for particulate production. Some time-proven roles of thumb can be applied to make these choices, and an included chart will make plunger slippage calculations simple and straightforward. Scale which sticks to pump surfaces dictates the choice of a different style down-hole pump. A straightforward modification of an RH style API pump has proved successful in these conditions. Fluid and particulate production with and without attendant gas production requires a different approach to down-hole pump selection. Several successful older pump designs as well as some recently proven new designs will be described. A test program has been completed and actual applications have shown that an API Tubing Pump derivative can pump large volumes of particulate laden fluid without characteristic sticking of the plunger.