SOCIEiY OF PETROIJ3UMENGINEERS0)?

AIME PAPER
6300 North Cent,galExpressway .- mER SPE 592 “
.j)allas
6, Texas

THIS IS A PREPRXNT--- SUBJECT’‘IO ComCTIoN

APPLYING HYDRAULIC PUMPING

TO TODAY! S LIFTING P“ROBLEMS
,.
By

M. R, Mecusker$Member -, Kobe, Inc., HuntingtonPark} Calif.

publicationRights R&served

This paper is to be present~dat the Rocky MountainJoint”RegionalMeeting in lkmver,Colo,,May

27-!28, 1963, and is considered*he propertyof the Societyof PetroleumEngineers. Permissionto pub-
Ilsh is hereby restrictedto an abstractof not more than 300 words? with no illustrations,
unless the
paper is specificallyreleasedto the press by the Edi’torof the Journalof Petroleum,Technologyor
the ExecutiveSecre%ary. Such abstractshould contain conspicuousacknowledgmentof where and by whom
the paper--”ispresented, Publicationelsewherea~ter publicationin Journalof Petroleum!lechnology or
SocietyQf PetroleumEngineersJou?maliS gr~ted on reguest$providingproper creditiH given that ~
publicationand the originalpresentationof the paper.

Discussionof this paper is invited. Three-copiesof any discussionshouldbi sent to the Society
of PelmolFumEngineersoffice. such discussionmaybe presentedat the above meeting~d “considered.
for publicationin ohe of the two SPE magazineswith the paper.
ABsTRAcl! &ployed; the “fik@d”installation,where the -
pump is run on a macaronistringin the well
The combinationof the basic hydraulicpump tubing or cas%ng,and the’“free”system>where
and innovationsin the arrangementof the various the pump is circulatedto bottmm”ina parallelox
components has producedg varietyof pumping concentricU-tube arrangement[Fig.2].
systemsparticularlyadaptableas emwers to .
today’s liftingproblems. With these basic”sjwtemswe have the poten-
tial ofxneetingthe needs of awlde varietyof
This paper presentsa look at some of the pumpingrequirements
pumpingproblemsthat have been commercially
solve&using properlyappliedhydraulicsystems. LARGE VOLUME
Interestingamong these are:
When producingwells are ’’puton the pump”)
1. large volumesfrom small tubing strings. many conditionsaffectthe choiceof equipmeut
2* Multipleco@letions. l,, used. +e particularrequirement@ be met is
5. Pwnpingfrom i6ka drill sites. that the systemmust f’itin the space provided.
4, Specialtubing arrangements. For obviouseconomicand ’practi.cal reasonsjwell
s, Producingviscousfluids. completionsare usuallymade using relatively
6. Bottom-holepressurestudies. small casingand tubing strings; Most wells are
equippedwith casingrangingfrom 5 to 7 in. and
INTRODUC!TT.ON ‘ ~ have 2-3/8- or 2-7/8-in. tubing installed. AS a
??esult.2 end.2-l/P.in..pumpin&..equipment
has
Hydraulic”pumpiugt while relat~vefinew,”has becomethe workhorse of the “oilpatch”. Of
been widely acceptedand generally appliedin courselarge equipmentis available$but is used,
pumpingwells? The conceptof supplyingfluid, in relativelyfew applications.
under pressure,thru fixed tubing stringsto an
engineand directlyco?mectedpump at the bottom Over the years these Uniti have been adequat
of the hole allows considerableversatilityin for most pumpingnee;s. However_, today there is
s-;oF-- ----- -.:
‘%y8tar--desig&-- -Mos%-Zro-duction-people: -&FE-@-–=- m:;igEreasing.demwd--%o-rnove-la?ger-ToZme
least acquaintedwith-thebasic hydraulicpumping fluid. Depletionreqil@ementsinvolvingthe-pro-
system..A power wit’, usuallylocatednear ~he ductionof large smouutsof water $rom both
stock teaks> suppliescrude oi17 afterit has natural’andartificial. driveshave “created.
the
~beengrewity separated>thru surfacelines to &e need for equipment, capableof N&?geril%splacement
...-.
‘“welllliead”iiiil .dowi.t%d.hoie 301”a~p7itliuction. .w”fltl ;ItjiS..o5iiou&~.;d&s STabSe.t01dbfairi..5h16_
hiciease
a%.%lie”botto”rn- [Fig-.i]. .1%0 t@cal. systema”a& “voJ$me,@thoutgoi
-. rig. t6 largertubing
... . .—, .. strings,
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2“ APILGYING
HYDRKULICPUMPINGTo TODAY’sLIETIIfG
@ROBB SPE-592 _

Hydraulicpumps have been found particularly PUMPINGFROMISLANDDRILLSITES

adaptablein meetingthese demands. Design
developmentof largerhydraulicenginesfor the Jh this discussionthere is one underlying
sfaudardunits has provide&the necessarybottm- fact that is basic to hydraulicpumping. The
hole horsepowerto operatetwo pumps directly: transmi.ssio~of power hydraulicallyhas few
connectedto a i3U@e engi~e. Transferringcer- practicalImitation@. The appliedenergy is
tain porting from the pump ‘tothe bottom-hole exertedequally in all.directionsand is inde-
assemblyhas permkttedthe use of still’larger pen&ent of the pl~e of %ransmission#the direc-
engine and pump pistons.,~is newdesig% tion of flow andjwithin practicallimits2the
referredto as externallyportedt is aLso avail- length of transmissionlines. The power source
able in singleand doublepump designs+ These can be at, or remote from the welMead, (Circu-
PWPs [F@o 3 aIld.4] providebottom-holedl.s- lation down hole is independentof the angle ok
placementsup to 7j500 B/Dwith the:largest~-in. directionof drilling. The only limitationson
pumps. Fig. 5 shows the displacementcapabili- depth are the mechanicallimits on tubulargoods
ties of the 2-1/2-in.singleand doublepumP6, and Oh the pumpingeqtiigment itself.
Other sizes have correspondingrsnges’bfbottom-
hole displacement. These factorsare importantwhenwe conside]
the’problemsofpumpingtown lot developments,
These inuovation~have made the maximum use offstioreplatformsand island,or any multiple
of the availablebore in.a given tubing size. drill site where surfacearea isl+nited. Recent
The next logicalstep is towse the axial space developmentsin ocean floor Cw.:=l,tOnt@chniqueE
available. Two ormore coir+..l.ete
productionunits are openingnew areas of explorationthat will
can be installedconnectedin’tandeq. The number one day be ideal applicationsfor hydraulicpump.
of pumps employedis obviouslylimitedby the ing systems,
circulatingcapaciti~sof the tubing strings
used. “ ,.. Systemsemployedin these ap~licationsare
usually closedpower oil types. These differ
MULTIPLECOMPLETIONS from the typicalinstallationin that power oil
,. exhaustedfrom the ‘pumpis returnedseparately
‘Theuse of more than one pump in a well and recirculatedInsteadof being mixed with the
~ediately suggestspumping of multi-zonewells. producedTlui,d.The re@Lrement of a total con-
Productionfrom more khan one zone in a well 1s IHnuous supplyof power oil is thereforereduced
not new. Flowingfrom.one zone while pumping to providingonly small amountsof make up oil,
from another,and pumpingmore than one zone, is This allowsthe use of small power oil tanks and
quite,commonin paralleltubirigarrangements, the consequentsavingof space. This systemhas
However$the facilityof L3nding_morethea one a particularapplic8tLonin the case of ~solated
p~p in a single-tubingstringpermitsa variety singlewells or small leases. A skid mou+ted
of system designsthat are particularlyadaptable power oil u+it and smalltank is set on the loca.
in multiplecompletionapplications. Fig. 6 tion with make up oilsupplled from the flow lint
shows *he baste dual zone systemsthat have been or by truck[l?ig.7]. .
used,
SE!ECIALTUBINGARRANGEMENTS
These systemsemploy two [or more] complete
hydraulicpumps. llualzones have aLso beep We have co~ented here that the hydraulic
producedwith onep.ymp. This systemuses the transmissionof power allowsthe system,designer
free type principle}landingthe pump in a spec- a relativelywfde latitudein design. The primaI
ial bottom-holeassembly, One zone is produced. obstaclesare limitationsdue.to.ava~.lable sPac?
for a given time, the pump is then circulated}o in the wellbore. E,many cases it is not possib:
the surfaceanclthe bottom connectionis changed, or’ecozxmricallypracticalto equip a well with
On relanding,the new bottom connectionports thf large paralleltubing strings. .Sothe typical
pump to the otherxone. ‘Thistype of system is installationis .$qu$ppe$wi?h,one=largetubipg
particularlyadaptableto those wells subjectto string.ad one or more parallelor concentric
pro-rate&controls. macaronistrings=

Dual zonesare also being producedwit.h Until recently,parallelstringshave been

double pumps [Fig.4]* In these systems,the run simultaneouslywith the macaronitubing.
upper pwyp end is ported’toone zone-andthe clampedox strappedto the well tubing. This
-:Jowr-~tip7endais-.potiti.3Q.th~mthen: .zonati
.....l!lxtl
.prQcedw~.p~ehts.cex3aZa.tiecbmfi~.Mu@&&&??l
systemprovidescontinuousproductionfrom two that complicatethe xunningof the tubing and
zoneswith one hydraulicunit, One featurecom- Itiitsthe systemsto a practicalmaximumoftwo
mon to all of ‘these:system& is the ability.to or ’threeparaX1.el”
st,ringsCWe31 ser%icqg al~o
maintain cofnp~ete zone separationduringope??a- requiresp@.ng of the completesystemto repai~
-KZ6~:%s.@Qjg@:d_~u&pg. ghq??.g?%:“ “ -~x,replaceany one’hbing s$ring. . ‘- - -
..-’ .—
———.”-
““--”’-:. -. —. ,,
......... ..
. -. . -.
‘.
 ,! .. :,

m..
.--,, Km - .M.
. . R. MMY3SKER
. .. .----.
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2
.

with the devt?lop.ment

of techniques,ofrunning BOTTOM-HOLEPRESSURESTUDIES
parallelstringsseparately. In *his %ype of
installation the well tubing is lmded md each ‘Reservoir pressure-d/or %emierature>sur-
parallelstring is ruu and stabbedinto a redep- veys are quite readilyrun in.hydraulicsystems,
taqle providedaown hole. Fig. 8 shows single Attachingbottom-holegauges,especiallyto tlie
and double stab-inarrangements. t free tjpe pump, make staticsad draw,down meas-
Wements easily and quic~y obtainablewith a
: With the factlityof runningas many tubing midnmm of,downtime ana expense. One,particLiLar
stringsas well casinggize permtts,the SQd relativelyrecent innovationhas been the
can become quite sophis- introductionof %he top mountedpressurebomb.
hydraulicpumping sy%rbsic
ticated”.We have,commenteahere on the vdrious Da this devicethe gauge carrieris mounted above
multi-zonesystemsin use. Some other variatiion8 the bottom-holepump as opposedto below the
axe: unit.. As a result, the seal Length of the:pwp is
.. . . not chqea and the unit will land in a standard
1. Gas ventedpacker installations. bottomhole assemblywithoutthe need of -
2. Injectionsystemsfor: auxiliarysealingdevicesor excessivelength
a. Chemicals. bottom-holespacing.
b+ Hot Oi~c t
c. Waker to one.zone.whileproducing The top mountedbomb arrangementalso per-
anotherzone. mits measurements’ofother thaa the typicalwe3.1-
3, Reversectrculatios. bore cou’ditions.The gauge can be readilyportec
4. Small Liner Systems-Parallel in the to any of the tubing systemsend measurements
cesingand concentricin the liner. can be made at tk.einput or dischargeof either
the engine or pump, or both. This is not a com-
Tie virtuallyuniversalacceptanceof mon use of the.instrument but has been employed
reducedcollardiemetersazxlintegraldofnt tub- in specialstudiesof particularcirculating:
ing has furtheradded to the versatilityof the problems,
hydraulicpumping system.
CONCLUSIONS ,
PRODUCINGVE3COUSFLUILH
!lhispaper has attemptedto discuss.
Pumpinglow gravity crudeshas alwaysbeen a hydraulicpump~g yith emphasison the develop:
problem,particularlywhen startinga?w?mp ments resultingfrom the demandsof today’sPUWP.
initially. Regardlessof the type of pump used, ing problems. An efforthas been made to poli~k.
fluid $rictionplays’~ importantpart in the OUt ~~alj ~draulic pumping systems-aregenerally
operationof the unit, However}hydraulicpumps 8PP1;iabletoany pumpingneed. The basic ,
are quite applicablein th%s case. The fact that hydra@.icconceptthat has provided.theequipmem
power is applieaa% the bottom of the hole to ‘ to pap all types of wells today,wi,J.1 also pro-
make both up am2 down strokeseliminatesthe need viclethe equipmentneeded as explorationfor oil
of relyingon the force of gravi%yto complete @kes us.deepersad to less accessibleareas of
the down stroke..The only limitshere are the operation.
abilityto apply the requiredpressureat the
surfaceand the tubing S%reAK’bh
necessary%0
transmitthe,pressureto the bottom of the hole.

The power oil Ltselfltn addLtionto oper-

ating the pump> can be used to advaatage, Heat-
ing the power.oi’lprovidesa means of raising
clownhole tempera?mreeto a~d in lowering
viscosity. The use ofdilutsxrtsas power fluid
has obviousadvantages.”Hydraullcpumps are pro-
ducing”$J,5°-APIcrude at present,ahd even using“
the viscousoil for power oil in some cases.

. . .
, , >

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,,
t
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~
FIG, I - BASIC HYDRAULIC PUMPING SYSTEM —
—
.— - .—
—. ..—- FIG.2
J,’F;,,
’IXED
11.’1
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.,’ ‘,
,1

EXTERNALLY
PORTED

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--

.,

sTANOARD
STANOARO

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... FIG. 4-DOUBLE
I “-
FIG. 3-SINGLE HYDRAULIC PUMP
.,
HYDRAULIC,PUMPS .
.
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—

,.:’
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i II
-
Displacement- 21/2: Hydraulic PUMPS ~

:,
5 OWER ZONE
$IL

F
\ZONE UPPER ZONE P OIL

2500 .

—
“ -w

2000
{“,

!
EXTERNALLY
1500” . PORTEi)y
t

r...

., -
----
-. -
- — —
.. 500 r,
ifi
c,

, SINGLE PUMPS DOUBLE PUMPS -

FIG.5 “
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- -.-. — .._—_
.— -——.
—— L-.] -—,
. —— ~_ .7 .— —.—-
..——
_ _

—— ——
-
. . FIG. 6- DUAL ZONE SYSTEMS
-.
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.=.
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— 9

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1
i“
FIG. 7- SOLO SYSTEM

,-.

SEPARATELY RUN TLJBING

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