PTP - 7

BEAM PUMP
PTP 7.1

PUMPING PRINCIPLES
&
SURFACE EQUIPMENT

1
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page No.

Basic system 03

Basic operation 04

Bottom hole pumps 07

Sucker rods 07

Beam pumping unit 07

Counter balancing 08

Fluid pounding 09

Gas locking 09

Advantages & Disadvantage 10

SURFACE EQUIPMENT

Flow lines and wellhead equipment 11

Pumping unit 13

Structural members 14

Bearings 16

Speed reducer 16

Prime mover 19

Counter balance system 22

Controllers 24

BEAM PUMP (ROD PUMP)

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THE BASIC SYSTEM

Sucker rod pumping is the most widespread form of artificial lift used since the
earliest days of the oil industry. The pumps are functionally the same as water-
well pumps used as long as 1,500 years ago in China, Egypt, and Rome.

Basically, a sucker rod pumping system consists of three parts:

1. Bottomhole pump
2. Sucker rods to transmit power from the surface to the pump
3. A surface pumping unit to furnish power to the sucker rods in the form of
reciprocating motion.

Basic components of sucker rod pumping system

BASIC OPERATION

In its simplest form the bottom-hole pump consists of a plunger working

up and down in a closely fitted barrel. The plunger contains a check valve that

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permits fluid flow upward but not downward. Also called traveling valve, this
check valve is usually of the ball-and-seat type in most modern pumps.

A second ball-type valve called the standing valve is located at the

bottom of the barrel, and, like the check valve, allow fluid flow upward but not
downward.

Sucker rod

barrel
plunger

travelling vale

The ideal operating principles of the simple sucker rod pump can be
standing
demonstrate valveInitially, the plunger is stationary at the bottom of the
pictorially.
stroke. Both the traveling valve and the standing valve are closed at this point.
The fluid column imposes hydrostatic pressure in the tubing string above the
traveling valve and in the pump barrel above the standing valve.

The load on the polished rod, that is, the top rod in the sucker rod string,
and on the pumping unit is the weight of the rod string only. As the plunger
moves upward, the traveling valve remains closed, and the load of the fluid in
the tubing is picked up by the rod string.

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 Top of upstroke
upstroke downstroke Bottom of
downstroke

reservoir

Schematic of idealized operating cycle of a sucker rod pump

The load on the top rod and the pumping unit is now the combined weight of
the rod string and that of the fluid column. With minimal leakage between the
plunger and the pump barrel, the pressure between the traveling valve and the
standing valve is reduced, so the standing valve opens, allowing fluid to flow
from the wellbore into the pump barrel.
At the top of the stroke the plunger is stationary and both valves are again
closed, so the fluid load is still being held by the plunger and the traveling
valve. Assuming that the pump barrel is now filled with fluid and that the fluid
is incompressible, the traveling valve will open as the plunger starts downward.
The weight of the fluid column in the tubing will be transferred to the standing
valve and the tubing, and the load on the polished rod and the pumping unit will
again be only the weight of the rods.

Further downward movement of the plunger will cause fluid to flow

from the pump barrel through the traveling valve. Return of the plunger to the
bottom of the stroke will complete the cycle. In practice such a polished rod
loading would never occur. Inertia affects loading; pump operation is not 100
percent efficient; friction would alter the loads; rods would stretch when
loaded; and the dynamics involved would cause variations. A near approach to
this type of polished rod loading would occur, however, in pumping a single-
phase fluid from a very shallow well with long, slow pump strokes. Actual
rod load diagrams used to evaluate pumping performance are called
dynamometer cards.

3. BOTTOMHOLE PUMPS

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 Tubing pump

In tubing pumps, the pump

barrel is run on the tubing
string
barrel diameter will be
slightly less than tubing
diameter
it needs to pull out complete
tubing string to repair or pull
out the barrel

Insert pump
•The insert pump is run
and pulled as a single unit tubing
on the sucker rods. Plunger
•Insert pumps are barrel
preferred for deeper wells.
•Efficiency of an insert
pump is slightly less than traveling valve
that of a tubing pump
because of the smaller
diameter of the plunger standing valve

There are two basic types of bottomhole pumps used for sucker rod
pumping-Tubing pumps and Insert pumps.
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 The tubing pump is so named because the pump barrel is run on the
tubing string. The plunger is run into the well on the sucker rods. The inside
diameter of a tubing pump barrel is just slightly smaller than that of the tubing
on which it is run, giving the highest pumping rate possible for a given
installation. Replacing the barrel of a tubing pump requires pulling the tubing.

The insert pump is run in and pulled from the tubing as a single unit on
the rods. Although used since before 1870, insert pumps were not used
extensively until after 1920. Because the insert pump can be pulled as a single
unit, it is preferred to the tubing pump for use in deeper wells.

The most common tubing and insert pump designs are controlled under
API specifications. Certain non-API pump designs- the casing pump and the
multistage pump- have been shown to be effective under certain special well
conditions.

4. SUCKER RODS

The earliest sucker rods were made of wood, usually hickory, with
metal end pieces. Iron or steel rods came into use about 1880-90 and became
common by 1900. API standards for sucker rod joints were first adopted in
1927. Improvements in the metallurgy used in sucker rod manufacture have
increased the strength and load capacity of sucker rods.

However, even with these improvements and the use of tapered rod
strings (strings with rods of more than one size, the larger on top and the
smallest on bottom), the maximum practical depth of steel sucker rod pump
installations is only about 10,000 feet, with a few low volume installations as
deep as 13,000 feet. Lighter, stronger rods are necessary for installations to
depths of 15,000-20,000 feet. The use of fiberglass rods is currently being
explored.

5. BEAM PUMPING UNITS

The sucker rod pumping unit furnishes power in the form of

reciprocating motion to the top of the sucker rod string. The length of the
stroke may vary from less than I foot to as much as 80 feet. The earliest sucker
rod pumping installations utilized a cable-tool rig after the drilling process was
completed, using the walking beam from the rig to operate the sucker rod
pump.

The structural members of these units were wooden with metal bearings
and hardware. Power was furnished from steam or single-cylinder, low-speed
internal combustion engines and transmitted through a belt drive. Electric-
motor drives could be added later. In these installations the derrick was also
left on the well, and the power unit and bull wheel were used for well servicing
operations. The same surface equipment was used for drilling, production, and
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servicing. These units, with innovations, were in use until about 1930, by
which time deeper wells were being drilled, pumping loads had become
heavier, and the cable-tool rig as a pump had outlived its efficiency.

The development of efficient mobile well servicing units had eliminated

the need for integral power and hoists at each well; and the development of
durable, efficient gear reduction units paved the way for the production of beam
pumping units with higher speed and prime movers of lighter weight.

The relatively high rotating speed of the prime mover is first reduced by
the belt drive and then by the gear reducer to rotation of the crank at the desired
strokes/minute rate. Rotation of the crank is converted through the crank arm,
crank pin bearing, Pitman, equalizer, and equalizer bearing into reciprocating
motion of the walking beam. Walking beam motion is then converted to linear
motion of the polished rod by the horse-head and hanger.

With proper unit alignment, this motion should not impose any bending
moment on the polished rod. The polished rod and the stuffing box provide a
seal between the rods and the tubing at the surface to divert the fluid being
pumped into the flow line.

6. COUNTERBALANCING

The counterweight shown on the crank arm of the beam pumping unit is
an important component of the system. The counterbalance weight can also be
placed on the walking beam, or an air cylinder can be used for the same
purpose. Pumping units can be described as beam-balanced, crank-balanced, or
air-balanced.

The purpose of counterbalancing can be visualized by studying the

motion of the rod string and the pumping unit in conjunction with the idealized
pump operation illustrated previously . In this simplified situation the load on
the polished rod on the upstroke is the weight of the rods plus the weight of the
fluid. On the down-stroke it is the weight of the rods only.

Without counterbalancing, the load on the gear reducer and prime

mover during the upstroke goes in one direction. On the downstroke, the load
is in the opposite direction.

This type of loading is highly undesirable, causing unnecessary wear

and tear and powerl consumption. In practice, a counterweight equivalent to
the rod weight plus approximately one-half the fluid weight is used. Proper
counterbalancing results in the lowest loads possible on the gear box and prime
mover, reduced failures and downtime, and reduced fuel or power
requirements. It has been estimated that at least 25 percent of the beam
pumping units in operation are not properly counterbalanced.

7. FLUID POUNDING

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 When the pumping well has been on production long enough to
stabilize, the ideal pumping situation occurs when the inflow rate of the well
matches the pumping rate with sufficient pump submergence to permit the
pump to be completely filled on each stroke. The pump can be completely
filled, or nearly so, only when the gas being produced is separated from the
well fluid and vented through the casing and when the pumping rate and the
inflow rate are the same.

A gas anchor below the pump assists in the bottomhole gas

separation. In general, casing pressure should be maintained as low as
possible. If the pump rate exceeds the inflow rate, the well will "pump off,"
and the pump will not fill completely on the upstroke. On the downstroke,
the pump plunger will strike the incompressible liquid, causing fluid
pounding. The result is shock loading on the rod string, the surface
equipment, and the gears.

Severe fluid pounding is easily detected from the dynamometer card or

by vibration of the polished rod. It should be corrected by reducing the rate of
strokes per minute or reducing the stroke length.

If the pumping unit's lower limit has been reached by reducing speed and
reducing stroke length and the well continues to pump off, fluid pounding can
be reduced by pumping the well intermittently. The unit can be turned on and
off manually, with a time-cycle controller, or with a pump-off controller.

Fluid pounding can result in costly repairs and downtime. Intermittent

pumping can reduce these costs; however, a pumping system properly sized for
the inflow of the well will be more productive and cost less.

8. GAS LOCKING

The sucker rod pump is designed for pumping liquids. However, in

some situations the pump may become filled with gas, and if it is to continue
pumping it must function as a gas compressor.

As an example, the wellbore pressure at the pump suction is 200 psi,

and the hydrostatic pressure of the fluid column in the tubing is 2,000 psi. If
the pump is completely filled with gas at 200 psi, and the pump clearance at the
bottom of the downstroke allows for this gas to be compressed at a ratio of 5: 1,
the resulting pressure in the pump will be 1,000 psi, insufficient to open the
standing valve.

The gas will therefore remain in the pump chamber, and no fluid will be
pumped. The pump is then said to be gaslocked. On the other hand, if the
clearance volume of the pump on the downstroke is small enough to give a
compression ratio greater than 10:1, the gas in the pump will be compressed to
2,000 psi, and the standing valve will open. Part of the gas will be discharged
9
into the tubing, and the pump will partially fill with liquid on the subsequent
upstroke. The rest of the gas will be discharged on the next downstroke, and
the pump will again be pumping fluid. As pump depths increase, gas locking
becomes more of a problem if the oil is below its bubble point. It is also an
increasing problem with lower bottomhole pressures and a higher gas-oil ratio.

In general, when gas locking is expected to be a problem, a pump with

longer stroke and smaller diameter and fewer strokes per minute spaced for
minimum clearance will increase the compression ratio and reduce the chances
of gas locking.

In this type of well, gas anchors are helpful, and casing venting is essential.
Multistage pumps may also be used in deep, high gas-oil ratio, low bottomhole-
pressure wells in order to increase the overall pump compression ratio.

9. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Advantages

Sucker rod pumping is used widely enough to be familiar to most

operating and maintenance personnel. It can be used over a wide range of
production capabilities and is able to produce most wells to depletion at limited
rates and depths. Sucker rod pumping systems are highly reliable and are
relatively easy to analyze by using several different means: observation,
dynamometer, and well sounding.

High-temperature or viscous oils can be produced, and corrosion and

scale problems are easily treated. Sucker rod pumps can be driven by either
electricity or gas, the electric drive being easily adaptable to time cycle or
pump-off control. Finally, the salvage value of a sucker rod pumping unit is an
added benefit in maintaining a low cost production operation.

Disadvantages

Disadvantages of sucker rod pumping systems must also be

acknowledged. These installations are not suitable for crooked-hole work, and
depth and volume for which they can be used are limited by rod weight and
strength considerations. High gas-oil ratio production, as well as sand and
paraffin content in production fluids, further impairs the effectiveness of these
units.
Certain physical characteristics of the units may also discourage their
use. Their high profile is unsightly on urban locations and interferes with
operation of center-pivot irrigation machines on farmland. Their overall weight
and size can prohibit their use on offshore installations. For servicing
downhole equipment, the added inconvenience of using a pulling unit must be
taken into account.

SURFACE EQUIPMENT:
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This section describe in details about surface equipment of the Beam Pump.

1. FLOW LINES AND WELLHEAD EQUIPMENT:

Although flow lines may not normally be considered as part of a sucker rod
pumping system, the design and maintenance of the pumping well Christmas
tree and lines to the tank battery are important to the performance of the
installation.

Lines must not be too small or they will increase the back-pressure on the
annulus, decreasing the efficiency of bottomhole gas separation, increasing
formation back-pressure, decreasing production, and increasing power
requirements.
If the lines are larger than required, the low velocities may result in the
depositing of produced solids in low spots. The heading of flow and the time
required for produced fluids to get through larger lines may make short-time
well tests invalid.

As a rule of thumb, flow lines should be designed for a velocity between 16

and 50 feet per second, divided by the density of the produced fluid in pounds
per cubic foot. Normally, these lines should be buried below the freeze line,
and, if steel, they should be externally coated, wrapped, and cathodically
protected to reduce corrosion.

They should be monitored on a regular basis for leakage and inspected at the
well end for paraffin buildup. Check valves should be sized in accordance
11
with manufacturers' recommendations for velocity versus density and checked
periodically for leakage,

If the check valve on the casing gas vent line leaks, pumped well fluid can
circulate back into the annulus. This check valve can be checked in the
hook-up by closing the gauge cock on the casing pressure gauge, removing the
gauge, closing the plug valve on the annulus, and opening the gauge cock.
Flow from the gauge cock will indicate leakage of either the check valve or
the annulus plug valve.

The wellhead assembly on the pumping well should have enough

unions/flange joints to facilitate assembly and disassembly. It should have
provision for sampling and the injection of emulsion-treating chemical if
required (figs. 1 and 2).

Stuffing box
BOP
pumping TEE
wing valve
mastervalve

Typical pumping well Christmas tree

The casing annulus should be equipped with a surface valve in

addition to that on the casing gas vent line. This valve may be used for fluid-
level testing or the injection of defoamers, hot oil, or corrosion inhibitors.

Ordinarily, a tubing back-pressure greater than pump intake pressure

will prevent a well from flowing through the tubing; however, a few pumping
wells have a need for back-pressure to be held on the tubing to prevent
unloading of the well and unacceptable fluctuations in rod string and pumping
unit loading.

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2. PUMPING UNIT

Although a number of different types of pumping units are used to

furnish reciprocating vertical motion to the top of the sucker rods in a sucker
rod pumping system, over 99% are beam pumping units.

And since most of the design and operational considerations of

conventional beam pumping units are also applicable to the other types,
discussion will concentrate on them. The main components of a beam
pumping unit are the structural members, bearings, speed reducer, prime
mover, counterbalance system, and controllers.

Designations and specifications for these units are covered by API

Spec 11E, Pumping Units. Unit sizes are described by giving the speed
reducer torque rating in inch-pounds (in.-lb) divided by 1,000, the walking
beam rating in pounds divided by 100, and the maximum stroke length in
inches.

API Spec 11E covers the design and ratings of pumping unit
structures, gear reducers, and chain reducers. It also provides approved data
forms for manufacturers to use in submitting the required crank
counterbalance data, data on polished rod position, and torque factor for each
150 of crank rotation.

Additionally, it provides recommended practices for the calculation

and application of torque factors for the conventional rear-mounted class I
lever system unit, front-mounted class III lever system crank-counterbalanced
unit, and the front-mounted class III lever system air-counterbalanced unit.
API RP 11G, Recommended Practice for Installation and Lubrication of
Pumping Units, gives detailed guidance in these areas.

3. STRUCTURAL MEMBERS

The pumping unit structure includes the base and the Samson post. In
addition, the walking beam, equalizer, and Pitman, which are parts of the
operating mechanism, must be considered as structural members.

API Spec 11E specifies only the minimum design requirements for the
walking beam. Materials are not specified, and the design of bearing and of
structural members other than the walking beam are only generally controlled
by requiring that they be compatible with the walking beam load. The base,
Samson post, and walking beam are most commonly fabricated from
structural rolled steel shapes in accordance with ASTM A36, the maximum
allowable stress limitation for use of which is given in API Spec 11E.

The base is a rigid structure supporting the loads of the prime mover,
speed reducer, and Samson post and transmitting these loads uniformly to the
unit foundation. It must support these components and the operating
mechanism while maintaining alignment for proper operation of the unit.
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 Actual foundation area and depth are dependent upon local soil
conditions. The foundation must distribute the unit loads to the soil so that
there is no rocking of the unit during operation. Drainage around the unit
foundation should prevent rainfall or other water from soaking in around the
foundation to weaken the soil support.

The Samson post is usually fabricated from three or four legs of rolled
steel shapes. It must support the walking beam, horsehead, equalizer, pitman,
and more than twice the peak polished rod load. On top is the center bearing,
or saddle bearing, which supports the walking beam.

The walking beam must be strong enough to resist the bending forces
due to the peak polished rod load on one end and the actuating force on the
other end. The critical stress on the walking beam is the compressive stress on
the outermost fibers of the lower flange at the center bearing.

The radius of curvature of the horsehead by design is the centerline of

the center bearing. The wire ropes forming the harness for the polished rod
hanger form a tangent to the arc of the horsehead to provide linear motion
from the oscillating motion of the walking beam.

Some conventional units have provisions for moving the walking beam
relative to the saddle bearing. This provision should be used only for
adjusting alignment. If used for changing stroke length, the center of
curvature of the horsehead will not be the centerline of the center bearing,
resulting in nonlinear motion of the polished rod. Decreased polished rod life
and decreased stuffing box packing life will result.

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4. BEARINGS

The center bearing and the equalizer bearing, or tail bearing, on the
walking beam support oscillating loads, whereas the crankpin bearing between
the lower end of the Pitman and the crank arm supports a rotational load.

Various designs and materials have been used for these bearings.
High-lead/bronze journal bearings have been used successfully for many years
for all three applications. These bearings will give good service even where
complete film lubrication cannot be maintained, as in the oscillating load
bearings. Tapered and spherical roller bearings are also used, especially in the
crankpin bearings and in all three locations on large units.

Beam pumping unit bearings are conservatively selected, due to the

normal expectations of shock loading and occasional unit overloading.
However, their life and the life of the grease and dust seals that protect them
can be seriously affected by fluid pounding, pump plunger hitting up or down,
too-high pumping rate, or continuous overloading.

Also, these bearings are designed for radial loading. Lateral loads
caused by poor unit alignment or loose bolts in the structure or the foundation
can also shorten bearing and seal life. Some unit manufacturers specify that
structural and foundation bolts be hammer-tight.

Hammering bolts too tight can cause bolt failures in tension. If they
are not tight enough, movement will occur during unit operation, causing
lateral loads on the bearings and seals and misalignment of the unit. Bolt
failures in fatigue also result from undertightening.

On initial installation of a unit, the structural and foundation bolts

should be tightened in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations
after unit alignment. They should be checked for tightness after a short period
of operation and periodically thereafter. The little additional time invested in
proper installation, erection, and alignment of a beam pumping unit pays off
in reduced equipment failures and reduced downtime.

5. SPEED REDUCER

The purpose of the speed reducer is to convert the high-speed (300 to

1,200 rpm), low-torque output of the prime mover to the low speed (10 to 20
rpm), high torque required by the pumping system, a speed reduction of from
15:1 to 120:1.

This portion of the unit represents about 60% of the unit cost and, in
operation, more than 75% of the unit failures. It requires careful
consideration in selection and in operation and maintenance.

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 Various combinations of V-belt, chain, and single-, double-, or triple
reduction gear trains are used. The most commonly employed speed reducer
is a double-reduction gear train giving a reduction of around 30:1 or a little
less, coupled with a V-belt reduction on the prime mover end .

Single-reduction gears are used for economy in installations where

low-speed prime movers are used and overall speed reduction is lower. Triple
reduction gear trains are becoming more common, especially on deeper wells
where high-speed prime movers are employed; pumping rate is less than 10
strokes per minute (spm) and the overall reduction is greater.

Chain drives are produced by several manufacturers and are covered

by APl Spec 11E, as are the gear reducers. At least one manufacturer
produces pumping units with multiple-reduction V-belt drives. API Spec 1B,
API specification for Oil-Field V-Belting, covers the selection, installation,
and operation of V-belt drives.

The combination of double-reduction gear train and V-belt drive has a

number of advantages. The double-reduction gear train provides the
ruggedness and reliability of steel gears on the low-speed, high-torque end of
the train where shock loading and occasional overloading will inevitably
16
occur. The V-belt drive between the gear train and the prime mover partially
isolates the prime mover from the shock loading, isolates the gear train from
prime mover vibration, and provides flexibility in changing pump rate as
required.
It is a comparatively simple field operation to change sheaves and V-
belts for changing drive ratios. Field personnel making these changes should
be thoroughly familiar with the content and requirements of API Spec 1B, In
particular, they should be sure that the proper belts are used for the sheaves
employed, that the number and length of belts used is correct, and that belt
tension is properly adjusted.

Sheaves are made for use with V-belts having certain cross sections.
Use of belts with cross sections other than those for which the sheaves were
intended will lead to very short belt life.

And, since each belt has a certain load carrying capability, the proper
number of belts should be used. Too few will cause belt overloading and
early failure. Too many are an unnecessary expense, increase power
requirements, and will cause decreased prime mover bearing life. In selecting
a new set of belts or replacing a belt, any variation in lengths must be kept
within specified tolerance; otherwise the load will be carried by only a portion
of the belt set. Belt tension should be adjusted to specifications when installed
and should be checked on a regular schedule. Improper belt tension, either
too much or too little, causes reduced belt life.

If the gear box of a beam pumping unit is properly selected and

maintained, it should give many years of service. Failures in stress areas,
however, are usually expensive and the cause of considerable downtime for
replacement or repair. The primary causes of gear failure are overloading,
excessive shock loading, and improper lubrication. Some common causes of
gear box overloading are: -

1. Improper selection during the design process

2. Improper counterbalancing
3. Increased pumping rate, stroke length, or pump size due to
increased fluid production
4. Shallow rod partings
5. Stuck pump
6. Excessive friction
7. Braking the unit with crank counterbalance weight in the
horizontal position when hanging off the well load

Most malfunctions of the pumping system that create overloads are

easily detected by changes in the sound of a unit. However, the actual torque
on the gears can be calculated only from polished rod load and counterbalance
data.

The most common cause of excessive shock loading is fluid pounding.

Other causes are improper pump spacing; too-fast pump speed, causing the
17
polished rod clamp to separate from the hanger on the downstroke; loose
structural or foundation bolts; misalignment that causes knocking of
mechanism parts; and loose counterbalance weights. Worn bearings on the
beam or crank can also cause shock loading on the gears. If the unit is not
level, bearing loads are not uniform, causing accelerated bearing wear.

Gear lubrication is not normally a problem if the manufacturer and/or

API recommendations are followed (table 1). Automotive Engine oils should
ordinarily be used only in emergencies. The detergents and other additives in
these oils may cause any moisture, present to become emulsified. Gear box
oil samples should be checked at least every six months, more often under
severe operating conditions of blowing dirt, moisture, or hydrogen sulfide. If
the oil appears dirty, contains emulsions, or has a bad odor, it should be
changed. Some companies require samples to be sent to a laboratory for
testing on a regular basis.

Any water that accumulates in the gear box should be drained off on a
regular schedule A small permanent magnet on a length of string can be
lowered to the bottom of the gear box to detect an unusual accumulation of
small steel particles. An increase in wear particles may indicate either gear
overloading or improper lubrication.

TABLE 1
Recommended Lubricant Viscosities
for Gear Reducers
===============================================
1 2 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAEF Gear or
Application* Transmission Oil AGMAF Oil
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

OºF to 140ºF 90 EP 5 EP (ISO VG 220)

30ºF to I 10ºF 80 EP 4 EP (ISO VG 150)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Operating temperature of oil in a gear reducer on a pumping unit

normally will be from air temperature to 25º F above air temperature. The
temperatures shown in the table are the limiting values between which
satisfactory lubrication can be expected.

6. PRIME MOVER

The prime movers initially used with the first standard rig front-beam
pumping units were steam engines, with a gradual changeover in the 1900s to
low-speed, single cylinder internal-combustion engines
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 These engines were used for well drilling as well as for well service
and work-over. They were generally greatly oversized for the pumping
operation, and since the natural gas used for fuel was mostly a useless
byproduct of the oil production, efficiency of the engine and pumping system
was of little importance.

A few of these systems had electric motor drives installed for the
pumping operation. With the advent of the beam pumping unit and portable
well service and work-over units and with the ever-increasing depth of
production and power costs, the economy of operation and the efficiency of
beam pumping prime movers and systems have become more and more
important. Not only a wide variety of pumping unit sizes and geometries but
also a wide variety of sizes and types of prime movers are available. Initial
selection is dependent upon consideration of the following:

1. Horsepower required to pump the well

2. Anticipated changes in the life of the well
3. Speed requirements
4. Availability and cost of power to be used
5. Initial cost
6. Anticipated maintenance costs and downtime involved
7. Control flexibility required
8. Service life

Internal-combustion engine (ICE) and electric motor drives are

available for pumping unit service in a variety of types and sizes from a
number of manufacturers. In general, since electric motors have recognized
advantages in initial cost, service life, maintenance costs, and controlability,
they are employed wherever suitable electric power is available.

More than half of the beam pumping units in the United States have
some form of electric motor drive, with 1,200 rpm, NEMA D, medium-slip
(5% to 8% and 8% to 13%) oilfield motors being the most common. On
beam pumping units, peak polished rod load and minimum polished rod load
can load the motor up to 2 to 4 times the allowable continuous load, resulting
in instantaneous slip exceeding the nominal 5% - 8% or 8% - 13%. Although
the NEMA D motors are most common, highslip motors (up to 27%) are also
used for beam pumping unit application (fig. 8).

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 Electric motor slippage is influenced by motor temperature.
Manufacturer's rated slip is usually not reached until the motor has been in
operation for more than 1 hour. Slip of greater than 30% is required to reduce
torque by 6%.
Internal-combustion engines are normally used for beam pumping only
when suitable electric power is not available.

They may be one- or two-cylinder or multi-cylinder and either two-

cycle or four-cycle in design. They are commonly classed as low-speed if
they operate under 750 rpm and high-speed if they operate over 750 rpm.
Most of the low-speed engines used are single-cylinder, four-cycle engines

Since they operate at lower speeds, they must be larger than high-
speed engines for a given horsepower but generally have lower maintenance
and longer life.

Two-cycle engines are smaller than four-cycle engines of the same

horsepower but have higher maintenance costs and shorter life. Usually two-
cycle engines also have higher vibration levels when operating near the lower
end of their operating speed range. These can cause structural fatigue failures
with prolonged operation.

Since low-speed ICE prime movers are larger for the horsepower
output, they are ordinarily employed when the horsepower required is smaller.
Multi-cylinder high-speed engines are used when higher horsepower is
required They compare favorably with low-speed engines in first cost and
size but usually have higher maintenance costs and lower service life.

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 Rules of thumb for prime mover sizing are that the prime mover
horsepower should be 2 to 2 1/2 times the hydraulic horsepower or 1 1/2 to 2
times the polished rod horsepower. Unusual loads, such as high starting loads,
should be considered in the sizing of the prime mover. The sizing formula
used will result in the selection of an oversized prime mover in most cases.
This selection is not only an unnecessary added first cost but an added
operation hazard.

During certain malfunctions, such as parting of a shallow rod, an

oversized prime mover may continue to operate until manually shut down,
even though the gear box is seriously overloaded. When it is known that an
electric motor drive on a pumping unit is oversized, fusing should be of
reduced capacity in order to protect the unit.

7. COUNTERBALANCE SYSTEM

The importance of proper counterbalance of a beam pumping unit

cannot be overemphasized. Improper counterbalance results in unequal
loading on the reducer and prime mover between upstroke and downstroke,
higher peak loads, and increased power requirements.

A properly counterbalanced unit has equal peak torque on the upstroke

and the downstroke. The counterbalance weights on a crank-balanced unit are
raised during the downstroke of the unit to store potential energy in the
system. This energy is then released into the system as the weights move
downward during the upstroke. Without counterbalance, the gears and prime
mover would be very heavily loaded on the upstroke and would then have a
negative load on the downstroke.

In an air-balanced system, energy is stored on the downstroke by

increasing the air pressure in the balance cylinder because of compression.
This energy is returned to the system on the upstroke as the air expands.

Several methods are used to check pumping unit counterbalance;

severe out-of balance is audibly detectable. With an electric motor drive,
counterbalance can be checked by checking motor current throughout the
stroke. Proper counterbalance gives equal peak motor current flow on the up
and the down strokes. Motor current is easily checked (with proper safety
precautions due to exposure of electrical wiring) with the aid of a clip-on
ammeter .

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 Beam balancing

The torque factor method given in API Standard 1IE can also be used
to evaluate counterbalance. This method is both time consuming and
expensive, however, and is usually used to determine optimum direction of
rotation, optimum location of crank weights, counterweight requirements, and
future installation gear reducer sizing.

With this method, a computer-generated load diagram or dynamometer

card is first divided into increments of 15º of crank rotation, using
manufacturer-furnished rod position data. Polished rod loads are then read
from this for each 15º and recorded on the API form for net reducer torque
calculations, along with the torque factors and counterbalance data from
manufacturer-furnished information.
However, if the wellhead is hung off with the counterbalance weights
in the horizontal position, the torque on the gears would be the counterbalance
torque only -beyond the limits of the gear box. The net gear torque curve also
shows considerable negative torque during two portions of the pumping cycle,
a characteristic of conventional units.

This characteristic is generally considered undesirable in this type of

unit; it is usually not encountered in properly counterbalanced front-mounted
units with class III lever system geometry. The negative torque indicates that
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energy put in during other parts of the cycle and being taken out of the system
is not doing useful work. With an electric motor as a prime mover, the system
would not be taking energy from the motor during those periods but would be
driven by the system as a generator. Depending on the type of electric power
meter used and the amount of negative torque, power charges may be 8%-
10% higher due to the negative torque.

The counterbalance on air-balanced units is adjusted by manually

changing the regulator setting on the supply-air compressor output. This
adjustment is made with the unit operating and can be made fully automatic
with the addition of the proper control system. An air counterbalanced unit is
about 40% lighter than a comparable crank-balanced unit. It also requires less
space and has less lateral loading on the base. These features make the air-
balanced unit particularly attractive when the pumping unit is to be mounted
on a substructure or where space is limited, as on offshore production
platforms.

8. CONTROLLERS

Since the optimum pumping installation design is matched to the

inflow performance of the well to provide the desired rate of production, most
sucker rod pumping systems will at times pump off and pound fluid. The
designer has included safety factors to ensure adequate capacity, almost
always resulting in some over capacity in the pumping system when the
system is in good working condition.

Time-cycle controllers or pump-off controllers are used to adjust the

capacity of the pumping system to prevent fluid pounding while obtaining
maximum production. In practice, the time-cycle controller or pump-off
controller is the final trim to optimize the outflow system design.

Time-cycle controllers: Time-cycling of the pumping unit was first

accomplished by manually turning the pumping unit off and on. Selection of
the duration of the on and off periods was by trial and error, frequently
resulting in reduced production. With increased use of electric power for
pumping, automatic time-cycle controllers gained in popularity.

Earlier designs included a clock drive with pins set on a wheel to

operate a control switch to turn the unit off and on. This design was an
improvement in control compared to manual control, but the accuracy of
setting the duration of the off and on periods was limited. Some sacrifice in
production resulted.

Percentage timers:
Most modern pumping unit
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electric motor controllers are
equipped with a percentage
timer to control the on-off
cycle of the unit.

Antenna
Clinometer
(position sensor)

Load cell
0.1250

RPC

MCI

Position switch

The duration of the total cycle is preset and fixed. The percentages of
on and off times are then adjusted to give maximum production without fluid
pounding. For example, if the desired on period is 50%, the setting is 12
hours (out of a 24-hour day). The unit will be on for 7½ minutes and off for
7½ minutes of the 15-minute preset cycle, resulting in a total on time of 12
hours each day.

Duration of the on and off periods for various settings are shown in
tabular form on the control box. This type of controller can be used to give
very accurate trim on the capacity of an oversized pumping system to obtain
maximum production with only low-level fluid pound. Its use also usually
results in a reduction of power demand, sometimes a drastic one.

Pump-off controllers. The percentage timers will in most cases give

the desired system capacity trim to provide optimum pumping system
performance. However, in some cases, as with a well that flows intermittently
through tubing or casing (perhaps indicating an undersized pump), this type of
control will still be inadequate, and occasional fluid pounding will occur. In
these cases, controllers that sense the pumped-off condition directly may be
required. Sensing of the pumped-off condition can be by various means:
vibration, beam load change, motor load change, or polished rod load change.

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 Settings on this controller include set point, time off and minimum
time on. Set point is adjusted with the aid of a dynamometer recorder. With
this controller, any time the set point falls outside the load diagram, the unit
will shut off. Off time is set. When the unit comes back on, it will pump for
a set minimum time even if sensing a pumped-off condition.
The pump-off controller is more expensive than the percentage timer;
however, it makes the running of dynamometer cards simpler and is adaptable
to centralized computer-controlled systems. In many cases pump-off
controllers have resulted in reduced electric bills, increased production, and
prolonged pump life (for as much as 6 months to 2 years).

“Pump-off controllers”, however, are usually electronic devices with

somewhat delicate sensors. Operating and work-over personnel must be
trained in proper care and handling to obtain good results with pump-off
controllers.

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