Field Operating Experience Using New Ultra-High Strength Sucker Rods
Authors: Ditmore T.L. 
Published: December 2007

This paper was prepared for the 48th Annual Fall Meeting of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, to be held in Las Vegas, Nev., Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 1973. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgement of where and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon request to the Editor of the appropriate journal provided agreement to give proper credit is made.

Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum Engineers office. Such discussion may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, may be considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines.

The problem of sucker rod failures has plagued the industry since the inception of plagued the industry since the inception of rod pumping. The seriousness of the problem has been aggravated by deeper pumping, high volume requirements imposed by secondary recovery projects, downhole friction in crooked directionally drilled holes, and corrosive well fluids. Technological advances have been seen through the years in improved gas lift valve design, improved electrical and mechanical dependability in submersible electric pumps, and increased capacity from subsurface hydraulic pumps, but until recently, little improvement had been made in the weak link of the rod pump system-the sucker rod. This paper relates Getty Oil Company's two years field experience with a new ultra-high strength sucker rod, the development of which has proved to be a major advance in sucker rod proved to be a major advance in sucker rod performance performance The high load capability of the new rod has allowed use of larger pumps in Getty Oil Company's Ventura Avenue Field C-Block Waterflood, extending the range of rod pump capacity from the prior limit of 500 B/D to a present limit of 1000 B/D.

The new rods have been successfully field tested at loads of 47,317 PSI and are in service in 29 Getty Oil Company wells in the Ventura Avenue Field in California.

Introduction

After conducting a pilot waterflood for several years, Getty Oil Company began full scale expansion of it's Ventura Avenue Field C-Block Unit Waterflood in January, 1970. In December, 1971, after completion of the Main Injection Plant, the major portion of the C-Block Unit was being waterflooded. The project now includes 45 injection wells and project now includes 45 injection wells and 111 producing wells.

Small rod pump units and hydraulic subsurface pumps were used to produce C-Block wells during primary recovery. Primary production equipment was too small to produce production equipment was too small to produce high rate waterflood response and is being replaced by high volume submersible electric pumps in wells which have 6-5/8" or larger pumps in wells which have 6-5/8" or larger casing. High volume rod pumps are used in wells with casing smaller than 6-5/8". Dependent on completion interval and location on the anticlinal structure, rod pump depths range from 5500' to 7500'.

Crooked holes are common in the Ventura Avenue Field.