TY - THES

T1 - Design of a New Pump Jack for Continuous Sucker Rod Pumping Systems

AU - Hadj Ahmed Hilali, Maher

N1 - no embargo

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - Sucker rod pumping is the most widely used artificial lift method in oil and gas wells. The surface component of this unit is the pump jack which is designated to impart the reciprocating motion onto the polished rod and rod string. However, traditional beam unit is subjected to over-torque and structural loading which can be drastically damaging. Moreover, conventional Pump jacks pose many challenges in terms of energy consumption, large footprint, stroke length and speed control. Hence, considering hydraulic pumping units as an alternative to traditional pump jacks can improve the production operations and reduce energy requirements and HSE concerns. In this thesis, different hydraulic pumping units are initially studied and analyzed. Inspired by these technologies, an “energy saving” hydraulic unit is designed and simulated using Simulink/Matlab software. Various components were independently designed to optimize the performance and reduce the energy consumption. The unit was then simulated to activate a wire rope string as well as a conventional sucker rod string and their performance were compared with equivalent scenarios using a conventional Pump jack. The results show that the unit allows for more precise control of the pumping cycle in terms of pumping speed, SPM and stroke length. The energy consumption of the unit is also compared to conventional sucker rod pumping units operating at the same wellbore conditions, leading to significantly better results despite the greater pumping activity and higher productivity.

AB - Sucker rod pumping is the most widely used artificial lift method in oil and gas wells. The surface component of this unit is the pump jack which is designated to impart the reciprocating motion onto the polished rod and rod string. However, traditional beam unit is subjected to over-torque and structural loading which can be drastically damaging. Moreover, conventional Pump jacks pose many challenges in terms of energy consumption, large footprint, stroke length and speed control. Hence, considering hydraulic pumping units as an alternative to traditional pump jacks can improve the production operations and reduce energy requirements and HSE concerns. In this thesis, different hydraulic pumping units are initially studied and analyzed. Inspired by these technologies, an “energy saving” hydraulic unit is designed and simulated using Simulink/Matlab software. Various components were independently designed to optimize the performance and reduce the energy consumption. The unit was then simulated to activate a wire rope string as well as a conventional sucker rod string and their performance were compared with equivalent scenarios using a conventional Pump jack. The results show that the unit allows for more precise control of the pumping cycle in terms of pumping speed, SPM and stroke length. The energy consumption of the unit is also compared to conventional sucker rod pumping units operating at the same wellbore conditions, leading to significantly better results despite the greater pumping activity and higher productivity.

KW - sucker rod pumping

KW - pump jack

KW - hydraulic pumping unit

KW - stroke length

KW - wire rope

KW - SPM

KW - energy consumption

KW - footprint

KW - Hübe pro minute

KW - drahtseil

KW - Energieverbrauch

KW - Grundfläche

KW - Hublänge

KW - Hydraulikpumpenaggregat

KW - Gestängepumpe

KW - Pumpe Heber

M3 - Master's Thesis

ER -