The Most Common Methods To Maximize Production in the Energy Industry

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With the energy industry and specifically the oil and gas industry working on such a massive scale for probably a century, efficient and more functional methods of extracting natural resources from under the ground needed to be developed over a period of time. With a century’s worth of technological and infrastructural development, the sector is now working on some of the most cutting-edge technology. 

So, here are some of the most common methods of using an artificial lift for oil and gas extraction:   

1. Progressive Cavity Pumps

One of the most popular methods of extracting oil and gas, progressive cavity pumps have a rotor and a stator and work on the formula of positive displacement. By using the motor at the hole at the bottom or the top, cavities are created sequences to propel the oil to the top of the surface. The design of these pumps is straightforward, and as such, their production cost is meager, which leads to insufficient funds being needed to operate and set up these pumps in the plant. Also, they provide superb efficiency because they are designed to resist even the utmost resistance against abrasives and solids. They are also the most preferred artificial lift methods as they can lift sand on a very high level. 

2. Rod Lift

The other more commonly used artificial lift system is the rod lift system. Here, a pump jack, which also goes by the names of sucker rod, horse head, and dinosaur, is used at the ground surface level and is propelled by electricity. Also called beam pumps, the primary components are a walking beam, equalizer bearing, equalizer, center bearing, horsehead, hanger, carrier bar, stuffing box, flow line, Samson post, pitman, crank pin bearing, gear reducer, belt cover, prime mover, brake lever and the base. To create enough pressure in the downhole of the well and propel oil and gas to the setup at the ground level, a sucker rod is used by the pump jack, wherein it fits inside the tube and the case with a pump and two check valves at the bottom. The advantages of the rod lift system are positive displacement, overall higher efficiency of the system, optimized controls, flexibility in operation, and some limitations like the wear and tear of the rod and tube. 

3. Hydraulic Pumps

Thehydraulic pumping systems pump through a fluid starting at the ground level through some tube structure of some sort to another pump at the subsurface level. These pumps are usually made of jets, pistons, and turbines that rotate at ridiculously high speeds and push the fluids formed at that level and the original fluid in a mixture back up to the surface level and the equipment setup at the base. The two biggest advantages for which they are loved in the oil and gas industry are: they can be easily repaired as they can be easily taken out of the hole and put back again after being fixed. The second is that the fluid initially pumped into the hole mixes with the fluid formed at the underground level, and the mixture on its own creates hydrostatic pressure that is lighter than that of the original liquid, and as such, the overall resistance is reduced for easier flows and decreases the load on the pump at the downhole. And for these specific reasons, these pumps are heavily preferred where some heavy work is required.  

Gas Lift Systems

Gas Lift Systems are a bit similar to hydraulic pumps but differ significantly in the fact that the formation fluid’s density in the wellbore is reduced at the starting point, thus aiding the initial flow. At various stages inside the tubes, valves are inserted in the gas lift systems so that they respond quickly to the pressure created by the fluid column’s rise and opening. The gas that is inserted mixes with the liquid and makes it lighter, making the hydrostatic pressure less and less, and the fluid then easily enters the wellbore area. The performance of these gas lift systems are very good, which is why they are so much in demand in the oil and gas sector. They can increase the production levels easily to about hundreds to thousands and thousands of barrels per day. They are mainly used in scenarios where the wells have a high gas/oil ratio or the wellbores quite deviate. 

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