American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2015 - 87

SpecialReport: Artificial Lift Technology
depths greater than 16,000 feet;
* Withstanding temperatures up to
273 degrees Fahrenheit;
* Resisting corrosion; and
* Providing fatigue strength superior
to steel rods.
The weight of Megalex 5⁄8-inch carbon-fiber rods is only 12 percent that of
a 1-inch steel rod of the same length, he
points out.
"This is an appropriate comparison,
because the 5⁄8-inch carbon-fiber rods can
be substituted for 1-inch steel rods in the
top section of a tapered rod string," maintains Hale. "Carbon fiber has an endurance
limit more than 60 percent of its 235,000psi tensile strength, whereas steel has an
endurance limit closer to 40 percent of
its 140,000-psi tensile strength."

Superior Endurance
Endurance limit is another way to
identify infinite fatigue life, Hale explains.
"Theoretically, if a sucker rod operates
below its endurance limit, it should have
infinite fatigue life. This correlates with
the modified Goodman diagram commonly
used to evaluate rod stress," he says.
Substituting Megalex rods for steel
rods in the Denbury Montana wells resulted in 10,000-pound reductions in peak
polished rod loads, while maintaining
production at previous rates, he reports.
Lifting a lighter load has reduced overall
rod stress by 15-20 percent and lowered
gearbox torque load on the pumping unit
by 15 percent. "Oil is now a greater percentage of the lifted load in these two
wells, rather than steel bars," says Hale.
The carbon-fiber rods have been under
development and laboratory testing since
2009. "The challenge was to design a
steel end fitting that would not limit the
full strength of the carbon-fiber rod body,"
Hale states, noting that the result is a
patent-pending end fitting design. "The
end fitting has been confirmed by extensive
strength and fatigue testing in the lab,
and verified by beta testing in the Denbury
wells," he says.
Megalex rods will continue to be beta
tested with other companies and are expected to be commercially available by
second quarter 2016. They will be distributed by Lone Star Artificial Lift Systems. Hale says candidate wells for initial
applications will be those with histories
of rod failures, in addition to wells produced with long-stroke pumping units.
"Long-stroke beam units typically are
not able to pump the deepest wells
because of the risk of over-torqueing

ITT Interconnect and its BIW Connector
Systems brand launches its Metal-Lok™
Ultra HP/HT wellhead penetrator system
with k-PaC™ Technology, which allows
electrical power to pass safely and reliably to submerged pumps. The system is
capable of withstanding temperatures to
500 degrees and pressures of 3,000 psi.

gearboxes," he concludes. "Lightweight
carbon-fiber rods are an excellent solution,
allowing for long-stroke beam pumping
in deep wells."

Penetrators, Splices
ESP lift systems-especially their
safety barrier penetrator components-
have to become more reliable to meet
the industry's ever-evolving needs, contends John Hirsekorn, director of engineering for oil and gas products at ITT
Interconnect Solutions.
"Operators want systems that will last,"
Hirsekorn remarks. "You need components
that can handle higher pressures and temperatures. If production operations have
to stop to replace downhole components,
the producer loses money and production.
Longevity and reliability are crucial to
the success of any ESP installation."
Noting that failures in ESP applications-particularly those in harsher downhole
conditions-often are related to the cabling
connecting the power source with the ESP,
Hirsekorn announces that ITT's BIW brand
has introduced the k-PaC™ Technology,
a cable termination capable of withstanding
temperatures to 500 degrees F and pressures

of 20,000 psi. The system allows electrical
power to pass safely and reliably to submerged pumps through the well pressure
barriers, he says.
"The key is the patented sealing mechanism and pressure-balancing technology
that eliminates many of the failure mechanisms found in traditional sealing systems," Hirsekorn details. "This way, it is
applicable in any environment. It does
not wear as fast from downhole conditions,
and eliminates the need to frequently
pull and replace damaged ESP strings."
According to Hirsekorn, the k-PaC
Technology is employed in the new Metal-Lok Ultra wellhead penetrator system,
and is ideal for high-temperature applications such as steam-assisted gravity
drainage, but is applicable to almost any
well type or reservoir setting. He notes
that an operator is testing the technology
in a very harsh downhole environment in
Canada. While systems previously have
lasted only a few months, the new system
has been down hole for more than eight
months without incident, he reports.
"In fact, when we had to pull up the
pump because another part had broken,
the Metal-Lok components looked brand
new," Hirsekorn states.
ITT BIW also has released a new line
of Presta™ mechanical splices for ESPs
in deepwater and extreme service wells,
which also use k-PaC Technology.
Hirsekorn says the splices offer longer
lifetimes, are faster to assemble, accommodate different-sized cables on either
end, require no special expertise to install,
and can handle high-pressure fluid columns
and long work cycles as well as the repetitive pressure cycling conditions prevalent
in deepwater production.
"A good ESP system can save millions
of dollars because a deepwater rig mobilized to work over an ESP well can cost
$300,000-$400,000 a day," he reasons.
"More reliable, longer-lasting splices help
operators improve ESP run times and reduce downtime and cost."
The splices are engineered to tolerate
pressures in excess of 15,000 psi and
temperatures to 400 degrees, as well as
the high downhole gas concentrations
often experienced below the packer, according to Hirsekorn.
❒

Coming In July

Part I of the Horizontal & Innovative Drilling series spotlights the
state of horizontal technology and
the way forward.
JUNE 2015 87

American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2015