A beam pumping unit is a machine for translating rotary motion from a crankshaft to a linear reciprocating motion for the purpose of transferring mechanical power to a down-hole pump.
The purpose, simply stated, of the basic system is to transmit energy from the surface to the downhole pump. The resulting configuration has been referred to as a Sucker Rod Pumping System.
Baker Hughes Centrilift AutographPC ™ is an artificial lift and application simulation software. It’s a powerful tool to give a comprehensive and user-friendly system design. This software can be used to design production systems, including: electrical submersible pumping (ESP) systems; electrical submersible progressing cavity pumping (ESPCP™) systems; rod-driven progressing cavity pumping (RDPCP™) systems; horizontal surface pumping (HPump™) systems; and gas lift systems, etc.
Each system installation is unique and with this software, all the well information, including production characteristics, fluid properties and well conditions, can be entered during the initial design phase to produce the optimum solution for each sizing.
Once installed and launched, Design Modes Screen, shown in the following screenshot, appears. Design Modes screen has been added to AutographPC since July 12, 2017. This is the screen where the user can select a design mode and start a new sizing program.
The problem of heading (flow off and pump) is often encountered in gassy wells. This heading effect which can blow the tubing dry occurs as follows:
When heading process starts, the expanding gas pushes the liquid into the flowlines and increases production for a short time. In the meantime, the liquid leaving the tubing is replaced by more and more free gas. Eventually, the tubing is blown dry and production stops until the tubing fills with liquid again.
Whenever a fluid flows through a conduit pressure loss occurs. Many methods are available to calculate frictional pressure losses. They range from simple empirical equations to rigorous mechanistic multiphase flow models.
The Darcy-Weisbach flow equation is theoretically sound equation derived from the Conservation of Mass and Conservation of Momentum laws. Named after Henry Darcy and Julius Weisbach, it relates the pressure loss due to friction along a given length of pipe to the average velocity of the fluid flow for an incompressible fluid.
The Darcy-Weisbach equation contains a dimensionless friction factor, known as the Darcy friction factor. This is also variously called the Darcy–Weisbach friction factor, friction factor, resistance coefficient, flow coefficient, or Moody friction factor.
In a cylindrical pipe of uniform hydraulic diameter d, flowing full, the pressure loss due to density and viscous effects dp/dL is proportional to length L and can be characterized by the Darcy–Weisbach equation:
Where:
The equation can be written as shown below in both typical US oilfield units and SI units:
This article will present the typical ranges of jet pump operating parameters and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of jet pumps in oil wells applications.
Jet pumps have several advantages such as:
