World Oil

Extracted from

MAY 2015 issue. Posted with permission.

SPECIAL FOCUS: PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY

Whats new in artificial lift?

Part 1: In this first of two
monthly reports, the authors
highlight innovations in beam/
rod pumping, linear lift units,
hydraulic piston pumps,
hydraulic jet pumps, and
more.

JOE D. WOODS, International Pinpoint;

JAMES F. LEA, PL Tech LLC; and HERALD W.

WINKLER, Texas Tech University

There are probably as many ways to classify artificial lift systems as there are production engineers in the world. As a point
of reference, we like to look back each year
to Table 1, which we first published in this
feature in May 2013. As indicated, we think
it makes some sense to organize artificial
lift systems into three categories: 1) pumpassisted systems; 2) fluid-assisted systems;
and 3) flow enhancement techniques.
Within these three categories, there are basically 11 types of lift technologies. In each
category, there also exist unconventional
or emerging technology types of lift.
A complete well flow management
portfolio. According to Schlumberger, as
part of their strategy to better integrate its
production solutions, the company has
brought together leading providers of rod
and beam pumps, acquiring 16 companies throughout the major North American basins over the last several months.
Schlumberger now offers a complete
suite of artificial lift products for the life
of the well, including electric submersible
pumps, gas lift, horizontal surface pumps,
sucker rod pumps, progressing cavity
pumps, and production design and optimization software.
The companys sucker rod pump solutions now include an extensive range of
beam-balanced, low-profile, improvedgeometry, and conventional pumping
units. In addition, the company now offers

Table 1. Categories and types of artificial lift systems

Pump-assisted
Beam/rod pump systems
Linear lift pumps
Hydraulic piston pumps
Electric submersible pumps (ESPs)
Progressive cavity pumps (PCPs)

hydraulic stroking units, which have a preventive leak design and long stroke lengths
that make these units an ideal fit for many
applications, including gassy, horizontal
wells and shale plays.
Schlumberger also has a wide variety of downhole components, including
sucker rods, polished rods, and downhole
pumps. Through its established distribution network, the company can quickly
deliver a replacement part, if an original
component has worn out, or if downhole
conditions change.
With these latest acquisitions, the
companys comprehensive portfolio now
includes artificial lift products for all applications and production volumes for a
complete engineered production solution.
According to a company spokesperson,
Schlumbergers goals are to maximize
production, improve reliability downhole,
and reduce downtime with comprehensive
lift packages tailored to each customers
unique operational challenges.
NEXT MONTH

Part 2 of this years Whats new in artificial lift? series, in the coming June issue,
will include a number of recent product
developments associated with ESPs, gas
lift and plunger lift technologies.

Fluid-assisted
Gas lift
Hydraulic jet pumps

Flow enhancement
Plunger lift systems
Velocity strings
Foam lift
Compression

Modern Well Completion Practices School. He

has written numerous articles on subjects, such
as sand screens, intelligent wells,
underbalanced drilling, drilling with casing,
logging, perforating, artificial lift, and
fracturing. Mr. Woods co-authored the Modern
Sandface Completion Practices Handbook and
the Mature Oil & Gas Wells Downhole
Remediation Handbook. He attended Texas
A&M University and received his BS degree
from the University of North Texas.
JAMES F. LEA teaches courses
in artificial lift and production
for Petroskills. He holds BS and
MS degrees in mechanical
engineering from the University
of Arkansas and a PhD from
Southern Methodist University.
He worked for Sun Oil as a research engineer
from 1970 to 1975, taught at the University of
Arkansas from 1975 to 1978, was team leader of
production optimization and artificial lift at
Amoco EPTG from 1979 to 1999 and was
chairman of Texas Tech Universitys petroleum
engineering department from 1999 to 2006. He
has contributed to this series for over 25 years.
HERALD W. WINKLER is
former chairman and now a
professor emeritus and
research associate in Texas
Tech Universitys petroleum
engineering department
located in Lubbock, Texas. He
also works as a consultant to the oil and gas
industry in artificial lift, specializing in gas lift.
Early in his career, he worked for Atlantic
Richfield and Camco. He, too, has contributed
to this series for over 25 years.

JOE D. WOODS is president of

International Pinpointa
marketing services and
technical information company
in Houston. Mr. Woods has 40
years of energy industry
experience. He was director of
marketing and associate publisher at World Oil
for over 12 years. Previously, he was V.P. of
marketing at GEO International Corporation.
He also held key marketing positions at
Halliburton. With Halliburton, he was
instrumental in developing curriculum for the

World Oil/MAY 201535