Chapter 8

Subsurface Sucker-Rod Pumps

James R. Hendrix, OILWELL Div. of U.S. Steel Corp.*

Introduction
The general principles of sucker-rod pumps as used in oil are l%, lV2, 1%,2,2%,2%,and2% in. Strokelengths
wells are well known. Fundamentally, they consist of range from a few inches to more than 30 ft, and produc-
the usual simple combination of a cylinder and piston or tion rates with this type of pump range from a fraction of
plunger with a suitable intake valve and discharge valve a barrel per day-with part-time operation-to approx-
for displacing the well fluid into the tubing and to the imately 3,000 B/D.
surface. However, the variety of problems encountered There are two broad classifications of pumps operated
in pumping oil wells has resulted in a great number of by sucker rods. The older type is now known as a “tub-
modifications of this fundamentally simple unit to make ing pump.” This term indicates that the pump barrel is
it more effective for the various conditions encountered. attached directly to the tubing of a pumping well and
In general, the pumping of oil wells often presents the lowered to the bottom of the well, or to any desired loca-
widest variety of advqse conditions possible in a single tion for pumping, as the tubing is run into the well. The
installation of any pumping application. These may in- plunger, or traveling valve, of a tubing pump is run in on
clude high discharge pressures; low intake pressures; the lower end of the sucker rods until it contacts the
severe abrasive conditions resulting from sand or other lower-valve (or “standing-valve”) assembly. The rods
solids in suspension: severe corrosive conditions are then raised sufficiently to prevent bumping bottom at
resulting from corrosive gases or salt waters; deposits of the end of the downstroke and connected to a pumping
lime, salts, or other solids from the water pumped; paraf- unit, or jack, at the surface.
fin deposits from the oil pumped; and the requirement A more recent development is the “insert” or “rod”
that the pump handle liquids, permanent gases, and con- pump in which the entire assembly of barrel, traveling
densable vapors under the pressure and temperature con- valve, plunger, and standing valve is installed with the
ditions existing at the pump. Strong magnetic forces that sucker rods and seated in a special seating nipple, a tub-
may interfere with valve action when the valves are ing pump barrel, or other device designed for the pur-
made of magnetic material are encountered often. and pose. The rod-type pump has the obvious advantage that
electrolytic corrosion is likely to occur as a result of us- the entire pump may be removed from the well for repair
ing dissimilar materials. or replacement, with only a rod-pulling job, whereas
The bores of reciprocating oilwell pumps can range with a tubing pump it is necessary to pull both rods and
from 1 to 4% in. in diameter. The 4X-in. bore pump has tubing to remove the pump barrel. The rod pump,
a displacement about 22% times that of the l-in. pump however, is necessarily of smaller maximum capacity for
for a given speed and stroke length. This wide range of a given tubing size.
pump capacities is necessary to permit selection of the Tubing-type pumps may have a standing valve seated
most efficient and economical pumping equipment for in a coupling or seating shoe at the lower end of the bar-
all conditions encountered. In many wells it is necessary rel, or the standing valve may be seated in a coupling at
to pump large volumes of water along with the oil, so the the lower end of an “extension nipple” that extends
pump must have a capacity several times that indicated below the lower end of the barrel. The ID of the exten-
by the net oil production. sion nipple is somewhat larger than that of the barrel to
Subsurface pump bores now standardized by the API permit the pump plunger to stroke out both top and bot-
tom to produce uniform barrel wear and prevent ac-
cumulations of solids on the barrel wall.
8-2 PETROLEUM ENGINEERING HANDBOOK

TABLE 6.1 -API PUMP DESIGNATION

Soft-Packed Plunger
Metal Plunger Pumps Pumps
Heavy-Wall Thin-Wall Heavy-Wall Thin-Wall
Type of Pump Barrel Barrel Barrel Barrel
Rod
Stationary barrel, top anchor RHA RWA RSA
Stationary barrel, bottom anchor RHB RWB - RSB
Traveling barrel, bottom anchor RHT RWT - RST
Tubing TH - TP -
First letter:
R = Rod or inserted” type; run on the rods; lhrough ,“b,ng
T=Tublng type, nonlnserted, run on lublng
Second letter
H = Heavy-wall, for meta, plunger pumps
W =Thln-wall, for metal plunger pumps
S=T~I~-wall: for soft-packed plunger pumps
P= Heavy-wall, far soft-packed plunger pumps
Third letter
A = Top anchor
E = Eotlom anchor
T = Bottom anchor with traveling barrel

Rod-type pumps may also be equipped with extension when the rods are pulled. This avoids having to pull tub-
nipples above and below the barrel for similar reasons. ing to remove the standing valve of the tubing-type
In addition, rod pumps may be “top-seating” (pump pump.
suspended from top of barrel), “bottom-seating” (pump
seated at bottom of barrel), “stationary-barrel” (travel- Valve Rod. Valve rods are used in rod-type stationary-
ing plunger), or “traveling-barrel.” barrel pumps to connect the lower end of the sucker-rod
Both tubing- and rod-type pumps are equipped with string to the pump plunger. The valve rod runs through a
one-piece “full barrels. ” guide at the top of the pump. API valve-rod sizes range
The API has adopted standard designations for the from ix6 to 1 X6 in. in diameter. Modified line pipe
combinations listed above. The classification system threads are standard for API valve rods (see Table 1 of
given in Table 8.1 is from API Standard 11 AX. ’ Ref. 1).
The following definitions are provided to clarify some
of the more important terms used in connection with sub- Pull Tube. Pull tubes are used in rod-type traveling
surface oilwell pumps since a majority of these terms are barrel pumps to connect the plunger with the seating
peculiar to deep-well pumping terminology. assembly or “holddown.” (See Ref. 1 for thread dimen-
sions for straight threads.) Tapered threads are used on
Barrel. The barrel of an oilwell pump is the cylinder some sizes of pull tubes by some manufacturers.
into which the well fluid is admitted and displaced by a
closely fitted piston or plunger. Seating Assembly. A seating assembly is an anchoring
device for retaining a rod pump in its working position.
Plunger. The pump plunger is a closely fitted tubular The seating assembly is sometimes more commonly
piston fitted with a check valve for displacing well fluid called a “holddown.” The seating assembly may be
from the pump barrel. This may be all metal or equipped located either at the top or bottom of a stationary-barrel
with cups, rings. or other soft packing to form a seal with rod pump but can be located only at the bottom of a
the barrel. traveling-barrel pump. A seating assembly may be
equipped with composition cups or rings that form a tight
Standing Valve. This is the intake valve of the pump tit in a seating nipple, or coupling, to hold the pump in
and generally consists of a ball-and-seat-type check its working position by friction, or it may be provided
valve. The valve assembly remains stationary during the with spring clips that snap into position under a shoulder
pumping cycle. and require a definite pull upward on the rods to unlatch
for removal. With the cup-type seating assembly, the
Traveling Valve. This is the discharge valve and cups or rings also serve as a seal to prevent leakage of
moves with the plunger of a stationary-barrel pump and fluid from the tubing back to the well after it has passed
with the barrel of a traveling-barrel pump. The entire through the pump. With the mechanical seating
assembly of a cup-type plunger. or plunger equipped assembly, an accurately ground seating ring fitted on a
with other type of soft packing. along with the check tapered mandrel seats on a mating taper to form a
valve, is often called a “traveling valve.” leakproof seal.

Standing Valve Puller. This is a tool designed to at- Pump Selection

tach to the standing-valve cage of a tubing-type pump The selection of a proper subsurface pump for the ap-
when the sucker rods are lowered to the bottom. The plication is sometimes a point of conjecture. The follow-
standing-valve assembly is then unseated by raising the ing recommendations generally are accepted as suitable
rod string and is removed along with the pump plunger for most applications. Fig. 8.1 shows cross sections of
SUBSURFACE SUCKER-ROD PUMPS 8-3

Fig. 8.1 -API subsurface pump classification.

API pump classifications. There are many variations of possible to pump the oil level lower than can be done
the pumps shown, some within the specifications of API with a bottom-seated pump. This is a particular advan-
and some that are non-API that will still perform the tage when the fluid flow from the oil reservoir is weak.
desired function of pumping oil to the surface. Fig. 8.1 b shows a stationary-barrel rod pump with
Fig. 8. la shows a stationary-barrel rod pump with top- bottom-seating holddown. In this pump, the plunger is
seating holddown. This is a pump that is run into the well also attached to, and moves up and down with, the
with the sucker rods. In this pump the plunger is attached sucker-rod string. The barrel, on the left, is held sta-
to, and moves up and down with, the sucker-rod string. tionary by a bottom-seating holddown, either mechanical
The barrel is held stationary at its top end by the seating lock or cup type, which is the type shown in the figure.
assembly. The barrel is on the left and the plunger This pump is more suitable for use in the deeper wells
assembly is on the right. This is the preferred seating for since the barrel does not elongate from the fluid column
the rod pump when possible. The top seating holddown weight of the fluid in the tubing. Since the body of the
provides a seal just below the cage, where the well fluid pump pivots from its bottom-seating arrangement, it too
is discharged into the tubing, so sand or other solid par- can be used in crooked wells. However, there is a
ticles are prevented from settling between the barrel and tendency for the valve rod to wear against the upper rod
the tubing, and the pump is not apt to become stuck in guide in this case. This pump also can handle low-
the tubing by packed sand. Since the body of the pump gravity crude oil down to 400 cp quite well. Because of
pivots from this top-seating arrangement, it aligns itself its bottom-seating arrangement, the pump can be seated
in crooked wells more readily than other types of pumps. easily in an old existing tubing pump barrel without pull-
Also, there is no tendency for the barrel to wear by rub- ing the tubing, where a top-seated rod pump might be too
bing against the tubing. This type of pump can handle long to pass through an old tubing barrel.
low-gravity crude oil down to 400 cp quite well. In the The main disadvantage of this type of pump is that the
stripper wells and in wells with low fluid levels, the top- pump barrel extends upward into the tubing. This makes
seating design of the pump allows the standing valve to it inadvisable to use a long pump, since it is not anchored
be submerged deep into the well fluid. This makes it at the top, and the action of the sucker-rod string will
8-4 PETROLEUM ENGINEERING HANDBOOK

Some suppliers offer a combination top-seal and

bottom-seating stationary-barrel rod pump. While this
pump is considered “nonstandard,” it combines the ad-
vantages of top-seating and bottom-seating pumps. It is
particularly advantageous when a long pump is required
in a deep well. This type of pump reduces the possibility
of a collapsed barrel caused by external pressure and
reduces sedimentation around the barrel tube. Because of
additional sealing arrangements, this pump is more cost-
ly than standard API pumps.
Fig. 8.ld shows the tubing pump, so named because
its barrel assembly, including barrel, extension nipples
(if any), and seating nipple, is screwed onto, and
becomes a part of, the tubing. Since the tubing and barrel
assembly are lowered into the well together, it is easy to
position a tubing pump at any desired depth for pump-
ing. After the barrel assembly is in position, the
standing-valve assembly is placed in the tubing, and it
falls until it is stopped and held by the seating shoe. The
plunger can be lowered into the well by attaching it to the
sucker-rod string or by lowering it with the barrel
assembly. In the latter case, an “off-and-on” attachment
is used to connect the sucker rods to the plunger.
Another device, called a “standing-valve-puller’ ’ (see
(4 (b) Fig. 8. Id insert), can be attached to the plunger to hold
the standing-valve assembly, so both can be lowered
Fig. 8.2-Plain (a) and grooved (b) metal-to-metal plungers. together. The standing-valve assembly is released from
the standing-valve puller by turning the sucker-rod
string; so the standing valve assembly remains in place,
held by the seating nipple. If this action is reversed, the
standing-valve assembly can be attached to the plunger
tend to weave it back and forth, which may cause and pulled out of the well with the sucker-rod string.
premature failure. Also, this pump is not recommended This eliminates the necessity of pulling the complete tub-
for extremely sandy conditions, because there is no cir- ing string to replace the standing-valve assembly.
culation of the well fluid around the outside of the barrel. Another advantage of using a standing-valve puller is
For this reason, the pump may become stuck in the tub- that the standing-valve assembly is not in danger of be-
ing by packed sand. ing damaged or becoming stuck, as is possible if it is
Fig. 8.1~ shows a traveling-barrel rod pump. Many dropped through the tubing.
operators prefer this type of pump because of its Tubing pumps have larger bores and correspondingly
simplicity and because its construction also relieves the greater displacements for a given stroke length than rod
pump barrel of a tension load resulting from the weight pumps that can be used with the same size tubing.
of the fluid column. A theoretical advantage of this type Therefore, tubing pumps commonly are used where it is
of pump is that the pressure differential across the necessary to lift large volumes of fluid and a pump of
plunger is such that the high pressure is on the bottom of high displacement is required. A tubing pump has fewer
the plunger on the intake stroke and the direction of working parts and is often lower in cost than a rod pump
leakage, or slippage, past the plunger is opposite to the of corresponding size. However, the greater volume and
direction of the force of gravity, which tends to cause resulting heavier fluid load may cause a loss in this ad-
sand to settle on the plunger. For this reason there is less vantage by excessive sucker rod and tubing stretch.
tendency for sand to be forced into the clearance space Also, the entire tubing string must be pulled to service
between the plunger and barrel and accelerate wear. the barrel of a tubing pump.
Although the traveling-barrel rod pump is bottom seated,
it is not so likely to become sanded in the tubing as is a Plungers
bottom-seated stationary-barrel rod pump since there is a Fig. 8.2 illustrates the two most common types of
continual surging of the well fluid in and out of the lower “metal-to-metal” plungers used for displacing well fluid
end of the barrel while in operation. Also, the construc- in oilwell pumps. The left side shows a plain plunger
tion of this pump is such that sand cannot settle into the with “box-end” threads. This type of plunger generally
barrel when the pump is shut down. A disadvantage of is finished somewhat undersize at each end opposite the
the traveling-barrel rod pump is the long and somewhat threads. This provides for the slight expansion of the
restricted inlet for oil to be admitted to the pump barrel. plunger when tightened, without causing binding of the
This may result in a relatively high pressure drop through plunger in the pump barrel. The right side shows a
the “pull tube” and plunger to liberate excessive quan- grooved “pin-end” plunger.
tities of free gas or to cause the formation of condensable Most subsurface-pump manufacturers provide both
vapors that will adversely affect the volumetric efficien- plain and grooved plungers in various materials. It has
cy of the pump. never been demonstrated conclusively that either type of
SUBSURFACE SUCKER-ROD PUMPS 8-5

TABLE 8.2-LOSSES RESULTING FROM SLIPPAGE

OF 3-cp OIL PAST 2%~in. PUMP PLUNGER’

Slippage Loss in Pump

Slippage Past Plunger at 15 strokedmin
Diametral Slippage Rate Percent Pump
Clearance (cu in./min) cu in.lmin BID Displacement
0.003 11.43 5.72 0.85 0.2
0.006 91.5 45.8 6.8 1.6
0.010 424.0 212.0 31.5 7.4
0.020 3,390.o 1,695.O 251.8 59.2
‘48 in. long with 2,000 ps dlfferentml pressure and vmous plunger fits. Also shppage in
percent pump displacement wth fifteen 48-m slrokes per mmufe.

construction has any particular advantage over the other. pressure across the plunger. Thus it is seen that a plunger
Many operators feel that grooves facilitate lubrication of pump may operate with acceptable efficiency in a well
closely fitted plungers by providing spaces for the well producing a highly viscous oil, whereas the same pump
fluid to accumulate in considerable quantities. However, operated at the same speed and stroke may fail to deliver
there is considerable slippage past any plunger operating any oil to the surface when installed at the same depth in
under usual conditions where the differential pressure a well producing oil of low viscosity.
across the plunger is several hundred or even thousands The following equation can be used to determine slip-
of pounds per square inch. This slippage will provide page losses past a pump plunger with sufficient accuracy
adequate lubrication with either type of plunger if the for most purposes.
fluid has any lubricating value. One possible advantage
of a grooved plunger is that any solid particle, such as a adApAd C3
9= pLx2.32x 1o-7 ) . .
sand grain or a steel chip that gets between the plunger
and the barrel, may become lodged in a groove and
minimize scoring of the barrel and plunger. With a plain where
plunger, particles cannot escape from the finished sur-
4 = slippage loss, cu in./min (or 0.2371 cm’/s),
faces until they have traveled the full length of the
d = plunger diameter, in.,
plunger. On the other hand, a grooved plunger stroking
Ap = differential pressure across plunger, psi,
out of a barrel increases the probability of picking up and
carrying solid material into the barrel. Ad,. = diametral clearance, in.,
The high differential pressures encountered in pump- L = length of plunger, in., and
ing deep wells require an effective sealing or packing CL= absolute viscosity, cp.
means on the plunger. For wells of extreme depth, a
closely fitted metallic plunger is almost always used to A specific application of this equation will illustrate
form a satisfactory seal with the barrel. Such plungers the importance of plunger fits for a pump of a particular
are commonly supplied with nominal clearances of bore and stroke, operating with various plunger fits in
0.001, 0.002, 0.003, or 0.005 in. in the barrel. Such fluids of various viscosities.
plunger fits are commonly referred to as - 1, -2, -3, If we assume a 2%-in.-bore pump having a 0.003-in.
or -5 fits. For metal-to-metal pumps the API tolerance diametral clearance and operating with a pressure dif-
for barrels is +0.002 in., -0.000 in., and the tolerance ferential of 2,000 psi between the two ends of a 48-in.
for plungers is +O.OOOO in., -0.0005 in., making it plunger at a rate of fifteen 48-in. strokes per minute in oil
possible for the fit of a - 1 plunger, for example, to vary having a viscosity of 3 cp, then Eq. 1 becomes
from 0.0010 to 0.0035 in. diametral clearance.
ax2.25x2,000x2.7x10-s
Slippage Past Plungers 9= = 11.43 cu in./min.
In slippage past a closely fitted plunger, the flow be- 3x48x2.32x lo-’
tween the plunger and the barrel is in the viscous range,
so leakage or slippage is inversely proportional to the ab- If we assume that the volume of the barrel below the
solute viscosity and to the plunger length. It is directly plunger is completely filled during the upstroke, this rate
proportional to the plunger diameter, the differential of leakage can occur only during the upstroke, or ap-
pressure between the two ends of the plunger, and the proximately one-half of the total time. The net slippage
cube of the diametral clearance. past the plunger is 5.72 cu in./min, or 0.85 B/D. The
The absolute viscosity of well fluids commonly displacement of a 21/4-in. pump operating at fifteen
pumped will range from approximately 1 to 100 cp at 48-in. strokes per minute is 426 BID, and the slippage in
temperatures existing at the pump setting. In some cases this case is only about 0.2%, which is insignificant. The
the viscosity may be as high as 1,000 cp. As a result of results of this and other plunger clearances with 3-cp oil
viscosity variations, the slippage past the plunger of a are shown in Table 8.2.
particular plunger-pump assembly with a given plunger In the case of 0.020-in. plunger clearance, the slippage
fit, length, and diameter may vary by as much as 100 to loss when water or oil with a viscosity of 1 cp is pumped
1 under fairly common conditions. and as much as 1,000 would be 755 B/D, which is more than the pump
to 1 under extreme conditions with the same differential displacement, and it would be impossible to pump water
8-6 PETROLEUM ENGINEERING HANDBOOK

to the surface. or to a level requiring 2,OOC-psi pressure operated at extremely low speeds. as used in stripper
differential across the plunger. When pumping oil with a wells in some areas. The method outlined here should be
viscosity of 100 cp, however, the slippage would be only satisfactory for evaluating maximum slippage in most
about 7.5 B/D, or less than 1.8% of the pump displace- cases.
ment, and a clearance of 0.020 in. is reasonably satisfac-
tory for these conditions.
Slippage losses result directly in power losses, since
Soft-Packed Plungers
the same power is required to lift the plunger, with 90% Fig. 8.3 shows the cup- and ring-type plungers. The left
of the fluid slipping past the plunger during the upstroke side shows composition-formed cups used to seal the
as is required with 1% or less slippage. The energy plunger against the barrel. The right side shows com-
dissipated in slippage losses results in an increase in position rings (generally square or rectangular in shape)
temperature of the oil within the pump and a decrease in used for sealing. Some operators prefer a combination of
viscosity that further increases slippage losses. Also, both cups and rings on a single plunger. The applications
when water is produced with oil, excessive slippage of such soft-packing arrangements generally are limited
losses increase the chances of forming emulsions. to shallow wells and to those where abrasive conditions
Close plunger clearances are relatively more important are not excessively severe. Where this type of plunger is
with small-bore pumps than with larger bores, inasmuch satisfactory, it has the advantage of being easily and less
as the displacement for a given stroke length and speed expensively reconditioned with new cups or rings, and
varies as the square of the diameter, whereas slippage the flexible packing will compensate for considerable
varies as the first power of the diameter. Close plunger wear of the barrel as long as the barrel surface remains
clearances are especially important in small pumps smooth.

BUSHING BUSHING

WEARRING WEARRING

El- ENDRING

Ikft- MANDREL PACKINGRING

SPACERRING

MANDREL
CUP RING

KY-WEARRING WEARRING

- LOCKNUT LOCKNUT

- BUSHING BUSHING

Fig. 8.3~Soft-packed plungers: (a) cup type; (b) ring type.

SUBSURFACE SUCKER-ROD PUMPS 8-7

Balls and Seats

Fig. 8.4 illustrates the type of ball-and-seat combination
commonly used for check valves in subsurface pumps.
Balls and seats are made in a variety of materials to resist
extremely abrasive and corrosive conditions. API Stan-
dard 11 AX ’ lists the important dimensions of standard
sizes along with the pump sizes with which they are
commonly used

Double Valves
Fig. 8.5 shows common arrangements of two valves in
series used both as traveling valves and as standing
valves. Experience has shown that two valves in series
will give much longer service than a single valve if the
valve life is determined by wear or fluid cutting, rather
than by corrosive action. This result appears entirely
logical where sand or other solid material is lifted with
the oil. In such cases failure is likely to occur as a result
of fluid cutting when a solid particle is caught between
the ball and seat and prevents perfect seating. A pressure
differential of 2,000 psi will produce a jet of fluid having
a velocity of over 500 ft/sec, which can easily damage Fig. 8.4-Pump valve ball and seat.

PUMP BARREL
PULL ROD

PLUGER
OPEN CAGE
1 STANDINGVALVES

BALL & SEA-I

VALVES

BALL & SEAT

VALVE

w- SEATING SHOE
CLOSED CAGE

c BODY CLOSED CAGE

BALL & SEAT
SEATING CUPS
VALVE
BALL & SEAT
VALVE

CLOSED CAGE

TAPER-CUP NUT

BALL & SEAT

VALVE
PLUNGER

RETAINER

Double Standing Valve Double Valve on Bottom Double Valve on Top

of Plunger

(a) W

Fig. 8.5-Double-valve arrangements.

8-8 PETROLEUM ENGINEERING HANDBOOK

GUIDE

MANDREL

SEATING RING
SPACER RING
TOP
SEAL RING NUT
TOP ANCHOR
BUSHING
SEATING
NIPPLE

RING-TYPE SEAL

BOTTOM
ANCHOR

SEATING
NIPPLE

Fig. 8.6~-Bottom-discharge valve for use with bottom-

seating stationary-barrel rod pumps. This valve is
attached to the bottom of a pump and through it
part of the well fluid is diverted up the side of the
pump to help dislodge sand that may have settled Fig. 8.7-Top seal and bottom seating for stationary ‘-barrel
between the pump and the tubing. rod pumps.

the lapped valve-seating surface on balls and seats in a of the pump barrel. This is done to prevent sand from
short time. The rate of damage is accelerated if the fluid settling around the pump, which may make it impossible
jet carries solid material in suspension. to pull the pump on the sucker rods. The bottom-seating
The life of a ball and seat will depend largely on the arrangement for a rod-type pump is desirable in wells of
number of times it is subjected to damage by fluid jets. extreme depth since the pump barrel is relieved of the
By use of double valves this can be greatly decreased, fluid load, which places the barrel in tension. When top
since a jet cannot occur until both balls are held off their seating is used, the barrel is subjected to a high pressure
seats during the same stroke. For example, if conditions which tends to expand the barrel.
are such that a single ball and seat is prevented from Fig. 8.7 illustrates another means for utilizing the ad-
seating properly once out of each 100 strokes, the vantages of bottom seating with a stationary-barrel rod
chances of both valves in series failing to seat properly pump and preventing sand from settling around the out-
will be reduced to 1 in 10,000 strokes. Furthermore, if side of the pump barrel. This assembly utilizes a
the two valves fail to seat, the pressure drop will be mechanical bottom-seating assembly, with seating cups
distributed between the two valves and the cutting action or rings that fit into a slightly restricted seating nipple,
will be less severe than with a single valve. properly spaced in the tubing to form a seal at the top of
the pump barrel.
Bottom-Discharge Valve
The bottom-discharge valve shown in Fig. 8.6 is used in Three-Tube Pump
connection with bottom-seating stationary-barrel rod This type of pump is illustrated in Fig. 8.8 and gets its
pumps and is designed to cause part of the fluid dis- name from the three tubes used in its construction. The
charged from the pump to circulate up around the outside complete pump assembly is lowered into the well on the
SUBSURFACE SUCKER-ROD PUMPS 8-9

sucker-rod string and is positioned in the well by contact-

ing either a cup-seating assembly or a mechanical lock
holddown. The middle tube of the pump is stationary, at-
rt- TUBING

tached to the holddown. The other two tubes attached to SUCKER ROD
the sucker-rod string move over the middle stationary
tube, one on the outside and one on the inside. The tubes
TOP TRAVELING
used in this pump are relatively long and have a relative- VALVE
ly large operating clearance in comparison with the usual
pump plunger. The resistance to flow between the tubes
is adequate to create the seal necessary to displace the
fluid past the standing valve and through the traveling
valve against the tubing pressure. This pump is designed
primarily to clean out wells after workover operations or OUTSIDE
TRAVELING
formation-fracturing operations, which may make the TUBE
well produce large quantities of sand for a considerable
time. It is also used in wells producing from loose-sand INSIDE
formations that consistently produce quantities of fine TRAVELING
TUBE -TUBING
floating sand.

Gas Anchors STATIONARY

-SEATING SHOE

TUBE
Where conditions are such that there is considerable free
gas in the well fluid at the pump intake, it is desirable to
prevent as much gas as possible from entering the pump
and permit the gas to rise to the surface through the cas-
ing annulus rather than through the tubing. Numerous BOTTOM
so-called gas anchors are in use that are designed to TRAVELING
VALVE
separate the free gas and deflect it up the casing annulus.
Fig. 8.9 illustrates a common type of gas-anchor ar-
_ PERFORATED
rangement in which the well fluid must enter the per- NIPPLE
forated nipple and circulate downward at a low velocity
before entering the gas-anchor tube, which is attached to
STANDING VALVE -GAS ANCHOR
the pump intake. This gives the free gas an opportunity
to separate and rise to the uppermost ports in the per-
forated nipple where it may return to the casing. A large SEATING SHOE
portion of the gas will rise through the casing before SEATING CUPS OR
passing through the perforated nipple. RINGS HOLDDOWN -TUBING

Special Pumps
-COUPLING
There are many other special types of subsurface pumps GAS ANCHOR
for use in special problem situations. Most of these are
considered “non-API” pumps, although they may use -BULL PLUG

some parts that meet API specifications in their construc-

tion. One special pump is the casing pump, which is
designed to be inserted directly into the casing without a Fig. 8.8-Three-tube pump Fig. 8.9-Gas-anchor arrangement.
string of tubing. Such pumps are set in the casing on a
packer or casing anchor that grips the casing and holds
the pump in position. Such pumps are limited in size on-
ly by the casing size and can be made to have a very
large capacity in relatively shallow wells. However, with
Fluids with large amounts of gas can cause gas locking
this arrangement, all the gas produced with the well fluid
or at least reduced flow because of expansion of gas in
must pass through the pump, and this may seriously limit
the chamber between the plunger and the standing valve
the effective capacity in wells producing large quantities
on the upstroke. This situation can sometimes be re-
of gas.
lieved by a special pump having two so-called compres-
Another special type of pump that is used to some ex-
sion chambers that serve to increase the compression
tent is an arrangement where two displacing plungers are
ratio in those chanbers above that normally obtainable in
designed to act in series. This increases the displacement
of a pump that will run in a given size of tubing and at a a standard pump.
given stroke length. Another variation of this concept
uses two valves and seats in the lower plunger and none Corrosion
in the upper plunger. This allows a fluid load on the In some areas resistance to corrosion of the materials
lower plunger at all times and assists the sucker rods in used in subsurface pumps is of major importance. A
falling on the downstroke. which is desirable for the wide variety of alloy irons, steels, nonferrous alloys. and
more viscous fluids. elements have been used to combat corrosive conditions
E-10 PETROLEUM ENGINEERING HANDBOOK

in various locations. Some of the corrosive agents com- Conclusions

monly found in various locations are hydrogen sulfide, Most items covered in this section are discussed in Ref.
carbon dioxide, salt waters containing sodium chloride. 2, which was first issued in 1968 and is updated regular-
calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and other salts. ly. It is recommended that this source be referred to for
Chemical corrosion inhibitors are now widely used by state-of-the-art information about subsurface pumps.
many operators. Such inhibitors are fed either con- It is well known that because of the dynamics involved
tinuously or intermittently down the casing into the well. in the sucker-rod string, the fluid, and the tubing during
Protective films arc formed on the tubing and rods, as pumping cycles, the plunger stroke of the subsurface
well as on pump parts. However, since protective films pump is seldom equal to the stroke of the pumping unit
cannot form on wearing surfaces, the closely fitted pump and its accompanying polished rod at the top of the well.
parts in rubbing contact are not protected as well as the During pump operation the fluid load, which is altemate-
rods and tubing by corrosion inhibitors. For this reason it ly transferred from the tubing to the sucker rods, causes
is more important to use corrosion-resistant materials in the tubing to increase in length on the downstroke when
the construction of subsurface pumps. the tubing is supporting the fluid load. When the rods are
carrying the load on the upstroke, there is a shortening of
Effect of Gases and Vapors the tubing with an increase in the length of the sucker
In selecting pumping equipment for oil wells remember rods. Both effects tend to shorten the plunger stroke in
that in a majority of cases some of the constituents of the the well in comparison with the polished-rod stroke at
fluid being pumped are above or near their boiling points the surface.
at the pressure and temperature conditions existing Because of the dynamic effects and the inertia and
within the pump. These conditions may cause release of elasticity of a string of sucker rods, there will be some
large volumes of dissolved gases and vapors with a slight additional stretch in the rods during the pumping stroke.
drop in pressure of the well tluid, in addition to the free This effect is known as overtravel and results in an in-
gas initially in the fluid. For this reason it is very dif- crease in the stroke length at the subsurface pump.
ficult to pump some wells down. Many wells apparently In years past, the calculation of sucker-rod and tubing
will pump off with several hundred feet of fluid standing stretch, as well as overtravel, was accomplished with a
in the hole because the condensable vapors and gases oc- rather simple set of equations using tables and curves
cupy the entire displacement volume of the pump. Under developed for this purpose. Later it was recognized that
these conditions. without a relatively high intake there are many factors in a pumping well that make the
pressure, which decreases compression ratio, the calculations a complex problem. In 1954 a group of
pressure below the plunger cannot be raised to the tubing users and manufacturers of sucker-rod pumping equip-
pressure. (This is necessary before the traveling valve ment formed Sucker Rod Pumping Research Inc., a non-
can open and deliver oil to the tubing.) On the profit organization, to study the problems of pumping
downstroke the vapors may condense and occupy a very wells. They in turn retained Midwest Research Inst. of
small volume without an appreciable increase in Kansas City to achieve their objectives. Their study
pressure, and only the permanent gases are effective in covered several hundred pumping wells and resulted in
increasing the pressure in accordance with the gas laws. design calculation methods that more nearly match ac-
There are two precautions to take to minimize the tual pumping conditions than previous methods. The
adverse effects of vapors and gases. results of the study were turned over to the API Produc-
I. The compression ratio should be made as high as tion Dept. The API in turn adopted these methods.’
possible. This is accomplished by using a closed-cage- These design calculations are too involved and lengthy to
type valve below the plunger with a stationary-barrel be included in this section. It is suggested that Ref. 3 be
pump, or a valve above the plunger with a traveling- used to determine the design values of a pumping
barrel-type pump. It is also important to space the pump system.
so the traveling valve and standing valve come as near to
each other as possible at the lowest position of the rods References
without making contact, and to use as long a stroke as 1. “API Specification for Subsurface Pumps and Fittings.” API
possible with the equipment available. Spec 1 IAX, seventh edition. Dallas (June 1979).
2. Flow velocities and turbulence at the pump inlet 2. “API Recommended Practice for Care and Use of Subsurface
Pumps,” API RP IIAR, second edition. Dallas (March 1983).
should be kept at a minimum. This is accomplished by 3. “API Recommended Practice for Design Calculations for Sucker
using the largest standing valve possible and a suitable Rod Pumping Systems (Coventional Units).” API RP I IL. third
gas anchor with the largest possible flow passages. edition, Dallas (Feb. 1977)