Throughout the world the most commonly used method to artificially produce wells is by sucker rod lift. Low producing efficiency caused by incomplete pump fillage is the most common operational problem experienced by sucker rod lifted wells. Incomplete pump fillage is the result of having a pump capacity that exceeds the production rate of the well or having poor gas separation at the pump intake with a portion of the pump displacement being lost to gas interference. More efficient operations and lower cost will result, if these wells are operated with the pump filled with liquid by eliminating any gas interference in the pump and controlling pump run time so the pump displacement will match the inflow of liquid from the reservoir into the wellbore. The operator must monitor well to insure that the pump has no mechanical problems and efficient operations are maintained as all the available liquid is produced from the wellbore.

Keywords:
interference, run time, gas separator, upstream oil & gas, university, gas interference, timer, controller, artificial lift system, beam pumping
Subjects:
Artificial Lift Systems, Well & Reservoir Surveillance and Monitoring, Formation Evaluation & Management, Information Management and Systems, Beam and related pumping techniques, Production logging, Drillstem/well testing
Copyright 2003, Society of Petroleum Engineers
You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.