Rod pumping and proppant flowback at the Lost Hills Field
Proppant flowback from hydraulically fractured wells can lead to sand wear on the pump barrel and plunger and increased pulling costs on rod pumped wells. Two approaches for lengthening run times of the pumps were tried. One approach was to install pumps that will allow production of a sand laden fluid. Pressure actuated plunger (PAP) pumps were field tested and showed an average increase of 81.6% in run time. These split ring wiper pumps clean the barrel of sand prior to the passing of the plunger. The other approach was to keep the sand and from entering the pumps. When down hole filters were utilized, run life of the pumps with the filters increases 135%. Well pulling cost savings of $11.91 per well-day and $9.24 per well-day are documented for the PAP pumps and filters, respectively. Application guidelines based on the sand loading rate and gross liquid production of the wells are presented, as well as some operational experiences.
- OSTI ID:
- 191888
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-951002--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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