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Pump Off Control

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A well can
have a little or Automation On
a lot of control.
This well figure
shows many
Conventional Unit
controls. These
are discussed
in more detail
in this section

BEAM PUMP WITH POC AND SCADA SYSTEM

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Load Cells, piggy-backed under clamp

Position transducer
5

6
SAMS Controller

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 Pumped-Off Definition

Pump off occurs when the pump begins fill with

increasing amounts of gas instead of liquid.
It is up to the operator to decide what degree of
pump off is allowed before shutting in the unit.
Common practice is to allow pump-off to the
point where pump fill age with liquid is about 85
to 90 percent

Problems Associated with

Pounding Fluid

Pounding causes vibration throughout the whole

system. This causes:
•Rod buckling
•Pump wear
•Tubing wear
•Vibration stresses
•Severe rod loading changes
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•Pumping unit vibration

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 Problems Associated with
Pounding Fluid, Continued
If pounding must
be done, do not
take the pound a
the ½ full point
of the pump.
This is usually
the point of
highest velocity,
but not always
due to dynamics.9

Best Wells for POC

A well with a high static pressure and a low PI is a
good well for POC.
This is because during the down-cycle, the well
will continue to flow into the well annulus.

The pumping unit should be designed such that

the unit will pump about 120-130% of the
maximum that the well will make.
This means that the well will pump about 18-20
hours a day
Excessive over sizing will waste money.
Only for very low capacity wells should the well
pump only a few hours a day. 10

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 POC
Cycles

Typical cycles are about 1 hour for many wells.

This means about a 15 min idle time and 45
minute pumping time.
If the pumping hours decrease when idle time is
increased, then production is being lost. The idle
time should then be decreased again.
Pumping hours are an excellent measure of
production, sometimes even better than a well
test in many fields. 11

Set points for POC

About right

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Types of POC’s, Instrumentation

Analog

Digital

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Benefits of POC

Some benefits reported are:

20% reduction in energy costs
25% reduction in pulling expense
1-10 % increase in production

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 POC vs. Timer

A timer can be used to determine when the

motor runs
A POC that senses pump-off can be used to
automatically shut in the well when the pump
begins to loose fillage.

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Timers

Operation and Maintenance, cont.

The pumping time setting on percentage timers or

mechanical time clocks used for back-up to the
controller should be regularly checked and adjusted to
slightly less than the current pump cycle under normal
operations. This should be done more frequently if
production from the well fluctuates. The setting should
also be adjusted after every change in the pumping
system configuration.

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Timers

Two style of timers are used in the oilfield. A

percentage timer controls the percentage of time
that the pumping unit operates.
A interval timer controls the time intervals
(usually 15 min) which the pumping unit
operates.
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They can cost from $25 to $200 each.

Timers
They must be manually set. The unit should
pump until the pump looses about 10% fillage.
Then they should be shut in for 10 minutes or so.
Also they must be re-checked as well conditions
change as nothing changes automatically.
Demand charges can be the biggest of a 15
minute period. If the total time is 15 min or less,
then off time makes the total less for the 15 min
period. In that case you would be charged, for
example $.05/kw-hr for consumption, instead of
$.08/kw-hr demand charge. This could work for18
a 15 min cycle percentage timer.

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 RUNS:
¾(15MINS)
OFF:
¼(15MIN)

GOOD FOR
FLUID
POUND
NOT AS
GOOD FOR
GAS
PROBLEMS
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Summary: POC’s & Timers

Electrical and maintenance costs will be reduced
with a properly operating timer or POC. The
recommended 15 minute percentage timer
technique for reducing electrical costs and
maintenance costs is a relatively simple technique
and inexpensive procedure for reducing operating
costs in a well which have a pumping capacity
exceeding the wells’ producing capacity.
POC is a more sophisticated method of control and
is very common. The main idea is to keep the fluid
level low without requiring a lot of service time
from field personnel. Other gains such as reduced
energy, reduced damage, and more production are 20
also possible.

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