Using Sucker Rod Pump Repair Data to Optimize Rod Lift Design

Abstract

Abstract Sucker rod pump repair data can provide valuable insights into failure causation for the rod lift system. Tracking trends on metrics, such as well pull causes and pump parts replacement, enable operators to understand both individual well performance issues as well as overall field performance. Comparing historical performance to current performance can provide operators with a better understanding of which rod lift techniques are effective for their area and which techniques need adjustment and further evaluation. The method for tracking pump repair data begins with a standardized approach to data collection by systematically disassembling and repairing a pump using software as a reliable means to collect the information. Pumps are disassembled, inspected, and assembled following specific guidelines that are included in a pump repairman's training program. The standardization of pump repair ensures that the data collected on metrics, including part wear, corrosion, and foreign material, will be accurate for analysis. The level of detail in the pump repair record, along with user-tracked well history, provides the end user the information needed to identify the root cause for specific failures, as well as visibility on prior failures to track design changes and performance over time. Tracking pump repair data provides the operator the visibility needed to evaluate well and field performance. As the database grows over time, a more precise picture on performance versus design will emerge. Run times can now be investigated at the field level, and variations in downhole conditions, wellbore geometries, design considerations, and well maintenance practices can be optimized. Using the data obtained from the pump repairs helps the operator to identify root causes for failures and modify the rod lift design to improve system efficiency. Throughout the life of the well, especially during periods that involve high capital investment, there is an appreciation in the industry for data collection to aid in decision making. Rod lift is an ideal artificial lift method for most wells, and typical data collection focuses mainly on dynamometer data for system monitoring. Understanding the changes that are occurring downhole, and optimizing the downhole design to suit those changes, are largely influenced by the experience of the operator's teams than by data specific to the system. Using pump repair data analysis to supplement the failure team's experience can improve the rod lift failure analysis and optimization process. By providing the team with information on the hardware that has been exposed to the downhole environment, the team can understand the suitability of the pump and bottomhole assembly design to the well and make the appropriate changes to improve performance.