Vortex Flow Tools

Hydraulic Diaphragm Electric Submersible Pump

Weatherbee Pump

Chemical Injector for Plunger Lift Gas Wells

Oilfield Brine Desalination Trailer

Low Cost Real Time Downhole Wireless Gauge

METEOR

Engineering Decision Tree Forms

Intermittent Gas Chamber Lift

Commercial Technologies Emerging from Stripper Well Consortium
by Gary Covatch, DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory, Morgantown, WV.
Excerpts in PTTC Network News, 3rd Quarter 2004

Established in late 2000, the Stripper Well Consortium (SWC) now has three plus years of project work under its belt. In its first year funding projects (2001), the SWC funded 13 projects, followed by 13 projects in 2002, 13 projects in 2003, and another 10 in 2004. Technologies developed in some projects are winding their way to being commercialized, several of which are featured in the following article.

The goal of the SWC is to further development of technologies targeted to U.S. natural gas and oil stripper wells. Annually, the SWC reviews development proposals, making awards to those its industry-led Executive Council feels are most promising. The Pennsylvania State University manages the SWC (www.energy.psu.edu/swc/index.
html). DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory provides primary funding, with additional support from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The proposal submittal and review process occurs early each calendar year and is now open to all organizations. Cost share contributions are required from those making proposals. Additional information on the proposal process can be found on the SWC website listed above.

Gas-Operated Automatic Lift (GOAL) PetroPump—Brandywine Energy & Development Co. has developed a gas-operated automatic lift plunger lift tool to remove fluids from stripper wells. The system is unique in that it operates automatically using an on-tool pressure-activated valve preset to retrieve and deliver a fixed volume of fluid each run and then to automatically return to the wellbore for additional fluid when required. The tool has low maintenance and service requirements, which is generally limited to changing the cup seals after several months of operation. It is inexpensive to operate as it requires no external energy source and limited manpower. The tool operates in both 3" and 4" casing. For more information and pricing contact Paul Yaniga at 610-388-3824 or e-mail at YanigaPM@aol.com.

Vortex Flow Tools—Vortex Flow, LLC has developed a revolutionary flow development chamber that takes a disorganized single or multiphase flow and transforms it to an organized helical flow. The vortex flow regime accelerates the velocity of water and reduces the friction that causes pressure drops as fluids flow through a pipe. The result is far greater efficiency when moving fluids. Seven different tools have now been developed. Test results have shown that the Vortex surface tools eliminate water build-up in low spots in flow and gas gathering lines, reducing upstream pressures. Over 200 Vortex surface tools have been installed in gas gathering and production flow lines across the US. The Vortex downhole DX tool is designed for installation at the bottom of the tubing and reduces the pressure drop up the tubing string, thereby reducing the gas flow needed to lift liquids up the wellbore. The Vortex Downhole DXR tool can be deployed via slickline through the tubing string and set downhole in a collar stop. For more information contact Brad Fehn at 720- 227-0350 or e-mail at bfehn@vortexflowllc.com.

Hydraulic Diaphragm Electric Submersible Pump—Pumping Solutions, Inc. (now part of Smith Lift, LLC) has developed a new type of pump based on a hydraulic-driven diaphragm, which has proven to be tolerant of fines and has allowed placement of the pump inlet below the perforations in sandy wells. Its performance advantages include the following: pumps coal fines and solids at higher concentrations than traditional systems, pumps gas/liquid mixtures, pumps dry/off with no damage (within motor limits), pumps any viscosity (high or low), has constant output with depth, is efficient at low volumes, and is highly efficient with reduced electric costs. This pump is now being offered commercially by Smith Lift. For more information contact Paul Treaster at 505-239-4655 or e-mail at ptreaster@smith.com.

Weatherbee Pump—W&W Vacuum & Compressors, Inc. is developing a novel type of variable capacity compressor/pump for low productivity gas production operations. The new compressor has 4 rotating chambers, which provides 4 intake and 4 exhaust strokes in each 360 degree rotation. The pump has no wasted motion as two chambers are loading while two chambers are unloading. All of the pump volume is swept as there are no corners or "dead places" for fluid or pressure to get trapped. The pump has a capacity control mechanism which allows the flow rate of the device to be varied to meet increased or decreased demands without changing the rotation rate of the drive shaft. The pump functions equally well whether rotating clockwise or counterclockwise, can be mounted in any position without affecting normal operations and can handle high BTU gas. The pump is substantially smaller and lighter compared to existing products on the market. For more information contact Paul Weatherbee at 325-695-4637 or e-mail at wildcattr@aol.com.

Chemical Injector for Plunger Lift Gas Wells—Composite Engineers, Inc. has developed a simple, economical chemical system that requires no special tools to install, no service rig and no downtime. The Plunger-Conveyed Chemical System consists of a modified plunger identical to the one presently being used and a chemical chamber located on the top of the lubricator. The system has 5 moving parts, most of which are in the chemical chamber located on top of the well. Chemical applications can be adjusted just as with any other well being treated. A standard oilfield chemical pump charges the chemical chamber with any liquid chemical such as corrosion inhibitors, foaming agents or paraffin solvents or even a combination of chemicals, alternately. The modified plunger, i.e., pad, brush, wobble washer, solid or snake of any length, is available with this system. The entire system can be installed in about 15 minutes without special tools. The system does not change the plunger performance or well characteristics and is field proven and economical. For more information contact Sam Farris at 405-990-9728 or e-mail at samfarris@compositeengineersinc.com.

Oilfield Brine Desalination Trailer—Texas A&M University has developed a mobile produced brine desalination unit to test onsite the efficiency of produced brine cleanup. The unit tests the performance of key processes used to cleanup the brine and measures electrical power usage, a major cost factor of reverse osmosis desalination. The desalination unit can process approximately 20,000 gallons of water per day and can recover from 2,000 gallons to 10,000 gallons of fresh water per day, depending on the salinity of the input feed water. Effective purification of impaired water requires the removal of contaminants in steps rather than at one time. The system utilizes a series of discrete cleaning steps, field proven in other industries, to purify the water. For more information contact Dave Burnett at 979-845-2274 or e-mail at d-burnett@spindletop.tamu.edu.

Low Cost Real Time Downhole Wireless Gauge—Tubel Technologies, Inc. has developed a new downhole wireless gauge that addresses the needs of oil and gas producers for a simple system to automate and optimize the hydrocarbon production. The system eliminates cables, clamps and splices inside the wellbore, increasing reliability, lowering costs and reducing significantly the time required for deployment of the completion system in the well. The tool currently monitors temperature and pressure, but additional parameters can be added. This new technology can be used both in permanent and service applications. For example, in frac service applications, the wireless gauge provides pressure and temperature data in real time allowing the operator to adjust its frac parameters during the job to prevent formation damage and to optimize the frac process.  For permanent applications, the system is able to stay in the wellbore for 3 years with a single battery pack (6 years with 2 packs) and provide real time data for pump monitoring to optimize and automate the production process to reduce lifting costs and pump downtime. The wireless gauge can also provide reservoir evaluation with formation buildup tests to optimize production and maximize the amount of hydrocarbon that can be extracted from the wellbore. For more information contact Paul Tubel at 281-364-6030 or e-mail at paul.tubel@tubeltechnologies.com.

METEOR—Advanced Resources International has developed a new reservoir performance tool, designed especially for fractured, low permeability gas production. The tool is designed for fast analysis to help locate underperforming wells and diagnose their problems. Its technical features extend far beyond traditional decline curve programs. METEOR will interface with one's own production database; forecast production using Arps, Fetkovich or variable compressibility decline curves; calculate permeability, skin or fracture half-length, drainage area and reservoir pressure; evaluate wells with multiple completions for layered-no-crossflow behavior; investigate options for compression, restimulation, artificial lift or infill drilling; and determine EUR and reserves. For more information contact George Koperna at 703-528-8420 or e-mail at gkoperna@adv-res.com.

Engineering Decision Tree Forms—James Engineering, Inc. has developed a series of procedure guides using decision tree forms which can help operators improve production from their stripper wells. The first is a low cost methodology which analyzes and suggests corrective actions for stripper wells experiencing abnormal production decline. The second details cost effective fluid removal options and the third identifies cost effective corrosion mitigation procedures. Each guide includes a set of forms to be filled out by both the well tender and the engineer, which aides in the remediation decision process. For more information contact Tim Knobloch at 740-373-9521 or e-mail at jeitsk@charter.net.

Intermittent Gas Chamber Lift—The Pennsylvania State University is developing a new production system for low volume oil and gas wells as an alternative to conventional lift systems such as rod pumping. The chamber lift process involves the injection of gas into the oil column via a small diameter tubing string that is set in the production tubing. The gas then displaces the accumulated fluid to the surface via the annular space between the injection string and the production string. The process is controlled using a sensor and motor valve located at the surface. The new system uses newer types of materials for tubulars to minimize costs and be more maintenance free of corrosion and wear, adapts to less labor intensive procedures for repair, has minimal downhole moving parts, is easily converted from current rod pump system, minimizes well "foot print," and minimizes mechanical and electrical equipment at well site. Penn State is working with Bretagne to field test the system in eastern Kentucky. Ongoing work includes the development of a simplified controller specific to the chamber lift system that can be manufactured at a very economical cost to the independent producer and selection and implementation of Polytube pipe for the downhole tubular material. For more information contact Dr. Bob Watson at 814-865-0531 or e-mail at rww1@psu.edu.

For more information on other projects or the Stripper Well Consortium in general, visit the SWC website at www.energy.psu.edu/swc or contact either Joel Morrison, SWC Director, 814-865-4802 or e-mail at swc@ems.psu.edu or Gary Covatch, DOE Project Manager, at 304-285-4589 or e-mail at gary.covatch@netl.doe.gov.