American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2014 - 115

SpecialReport: Artificial Lift Technology
Vaught adds that the pumps also feature
wider stage vane openings to reduce plugging and enhance their solids- and gashandling capabilities.
ProductionWave integrates FLEXPump
ESP technology with comprehensive monitoring and automation services, upfront
application engineering, and real-time
optimization, he says. "The result is an
optimal pump solution that meets all the
economic and operational drivers across
the entire operating range to maximize
return on investment and ensure increased
run life over the life of the well or reservoir," Vaught concludes.
Gear Rod Rotators
Joe Goodeyon, chief executive officer
of Wellhead Systems Inc. in Hill City,
Ks., says unconventional plays also have
spawned high-pressure blowout preventers,
stuffing boxes and super-slow gear rod
rotators.
The latter are designed for horizontal
wells when they are placed on a rod
pump, he explains. As the pumpjack rises
and falls, so does the rod string. The
wellbore deviation and pumping dynamics
cause a buckling motion that brings metal
into contact with metal in the form of
rod on tubing wear, Goodeyon illustrates.
To prevent such action and maximize
their run times, operators should utilize a
combination of rod guides and rod rotators,
he indicates.
"Each time the pumpjack rises, it actuates a rod rotator, a small gear that
keeps the rods rotating continuously so
that they wear evenly," he describes.
As unconventional wells have gotten
deeper and their laterals longer, the torque
on the rod string has increased, he notes.
"The original conventional rotators moved
so quickly that once the string began to
turn, it would torque up several rotations,"
Goodeyon illustrates. "The entire string
would then spin, causing significant issues
at the pump and everywhere along the
rod string."
Of course, wear and tear eventually
leads to downtime and stalled production.
Wellhead Systems' super-slow gear-rod
rotator prototype reduces rotation by 75
percent, he claims. "So, if a conventional
rod rotator moves through 100 rotations
over x amount of time, the super-slow
one rotates the rods 25 times over the
same period," Goodeyon details.
The idea is to create less torque and
distribute wear more evenly, Goodeyon
says, adding that Wellhead Systems has

assembled the prototype and is preparing
to test the device in a Permian Basin
well.
Meanwhile, Goodeyon says, to meet
the safety and environmental demands
of multizone completions in horizontal
wells, new high-pressure blowout preventers, stuffing boxes and environmental
control devices are being offered to meet
the demand. When wells are shut in, it is
not unusal for wellbore pressure to build,
he observes. Therefore, he concludes, it
is critical to utilize products that meet
the performance criteria.
Hybrid Gas/Plunger Lift
A new system from PCS Ferguson, a
unit of Dover Artificial Lift, coordinates
the operation of two longstanding artificial
lift systems-gas lift and plunger lift-into
an integrated hybrid system, reports Tom
Dean, the company's vice president of
automation.
By managing injection gas stability
and plunger cyles, if operating conditions
and other parameters allow, the system
can shrink the total amount of injection
gas a well needs to produce, Dean says.
For some cases in the Permian Basin, the
automation platform has eliminated gas
injection, he says. In the Barnett Shale, he
continues, PCS Ferguson has been able to
cut some injection gas volumes 30-50 percent while increasing production.
"The cost savings vary according to
region, depending on factors including
whether the operator is buying natural
gas or using his own, and whether he is
using centralized compression or has a

compressor on the well site," Dean states.
Chuck Heller, automation engineering
manager, adds that the system is designed
to manage by exception. Essentially, it
only alerts the operator in the event that
it detects a parameter outside the preset
normal range. The equipment communicates with the operator's host software
through a radio network.
"A lot of features have been built into
the equipment to allow the host systems
to pinpoint exactly what has gone wrong,
if troubleshooting is necessary," Heller
says. "Because it manages by exception,
if everything is fine, there is no reason to
send a technician or pumper to the site."
Rather than sending a technician to
visit each site on a regular basis to check
operations, the automated system generates
exception reports each morning to help
operators plan their daily schedules according to matters that need to be addressed,
he says. "The system is designed to run
independently and generally can identify
the problem. That way, the operator can
send the correct person with the right
skills, tools and parts for a repair," Heller
outlines. "That is important with the
industry moving to pad drilling in unconventional resource plays, since there are
more wells, often in remote locations, and
with limited resources to manage them."
One master controller can manage as
many as eight wells, diagnosing performance and resolving issues promptly and
efficiently to reduce downtime and lost
production, Dean reports.
While the return on investment depends
on a number of variables, including the

One master controller in PCS Ferguson's automation system can oversee as many as
eight wells. By using the system, the company says, operators can manage injection
gas stability and plunger cycles to increase production and slash a well's injection gas
requirements as much as 50 percent.

JUNE 2014 115

American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2014

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