Total well management aids production of beam pumped wells

The need to increase oil production, reduce operating costs and increase net income from beam pumped wells requires an integrated analysis of the pumping system, including the performance and interaction of all the elements: the reservoir, well bore, downhole pump, rod string, beam pump and prime mover. Such system analysis can now be undertaken efficiently using portable lap-top-based data acquisition systems with appropriate transducers and a suite of analysis software. Using field experience to analyze numerous wells has resulted in the development of a procedure which ensures that good results are obtained with minimal effort. The result of such system analysis should be a definitive picture of the performance of a specific time and a set of recommendations to be followed if significant improvements can be achieved. This paper reviews the steps to developing this well management strategy.