American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2019 - 84

SpecialReport: Production Operations
behind the company's product is to redirect
and use energy traditional systems waste.
"It is difficult to balance a pumpjack
perfectly, so there is a part of each stroke
where the weight of the rods causes them
to fall more quickly than is necessary, or
the counterweight of the surface equipment
pulls the rods up at a faster rate. While
this is occurring, the motor generates excess energy. A traditional system sends
that energy to brake resistors, which dissipate it as heat. That works, but the resistors only last a year or two, especially
in Texas and other areas with high ambient
temperatures.
"Instead of dissipating the energy with
resistors, our drive saves it and gives it
back to the motor when it is needed,"
Wade details. "How much that impacts
energy costs will vary based on the
specifics of the application and the agreement the producer has with the power
company, but assuming a cost of 4-7
cents a kilowatt hour, it's usually enough
to save $7,000-$10,000 a year. That means
the VFD will pay for itself in a year, then
put money in the producer's pocket every

year after that."
Amtech's VFDs and control systems
are built to maximize reliability, Wade
assures. "For example, every unit includes
line reactors and surge suppressers to
protect the VFD from lightning-induced
surges, a common cause of VFD failure,"
he reports.
"We are coming up with an improved
version of our VFD that has more sophisticated diagnostic capabilities and
built-in Wi-Fi," he says. "Our goal is to
allow companies to monitor drives from
a distance. If the area around a well is
unsafe, a technician even can reprogram
the drive from a smart phone."
The company's drives have a flexible
architecture that allows them to be integrated with controllers from a variety of
manufacturers, Wade continues. "We have
the expertise to handle that integration,"
he adds.
Long-Stroke Pumping Units
Forland Services LLC now offers longstroke pumping units with adjustable stroke
lengths. The company's vice president of

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84 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

marketing, Yan Zeng, says the equipment
boosts well performance and works with
all types of wells. "Long-stroke units can
handle larger production volumes better
than conventional pumping units. They
also are designed to handle heavier oil
and horizontal wells," she describes.
The long-stroke units allow operators
to adjust the stroke length and speed. Zeng
points out that the unit can operate at individual upward and downward speeds under
a four quadrant control VSD system.
"The unit's new features include a reversible motor. Other machines cannot
change driving direction, and so they
have to run the full cycle of the stroke
length. If anything happens down hole,
the controller can't bring the rod back
up; it can only stop the machine," Zeng
says. "The Forland unit uses a switch reluctance motor that can change direction
as required by the controller's program,
so it can run any stroke length. The
system is much more flexible."
Forland uses a simple mechanical
transmission system in its long-stroke
units, which reduces downtime from

FEBRUARY 2019
The "Better Business" Publication Serving the Exploration / Drilling / Production Industry

G
ul
fo
Pa f M
ge
e
86 xi
co

Production
Operations
Page 66

Craig Hedin
President IOGA
"Our mantra in this
legislative session
will be 'Please
leave the industry
alone. We are not
hurting anybody.'"
Page 96
Steven Downey
President OOGA
"One of the biggest
issues we face is
the environmental
challenge we seem
to have at all
levels: local, state
and federal."
Page 100

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2019

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