Yu Et Al-2016-Energy Science
Yu Et Al-2016-Energy Science
Keywords Abstract
Characteristic of polished rod, composite
hydraulic cylinder, hydraulic pumping unit, This article introduces a new technology about a rod pumping in the offshore
model prototype, offshore platform, oil platform according to the demand of offshore heavy oil thermal recovery and
recovery with rod pumping the production of stripper well, analyzes the research status of hydraulic pump-
ing unit at home and abroad, and designs a new kind of miniature hydraulic
Correspondence
pumping unit with long-stroke, low pumping speed and compact structure to
Yanqun Yu, 66 Changjiang West Road,
Qingdao Economic Development Zone,
resolve the problem of space limitation. The article also describes the whole
Qingdao Shandong 266580, China. structure and the working principle of this pumping unit, determines the choice
E-mail: yuyq_hdpu@126.com of stroke and rate of the pumping unit, and establishes mathematical models
based on the polished rod loads. A new composite hydraulic cylinder with a
Funding Information special structure was designed by combining the hydraulic cylinder with the
This study was supported by the National energy accumulator. This composite hydraulic cylinder is applied on land, and
Natural Science Foundation of China
the model prototype runs smoothly, which indicates that the whole structure
(51174224), the National Science and
Technology major projects of oil and gas
design of the pumping unit is reasonable and the control strategy is correct.
(2016ZX05017004, 2016ZX05042003-001),
and the Natural Science Fund Project of
Shandong Province (ZR2014El015).
doi: 10.1002/ese3.138
352 © 2016 The Authors. Energy Science & Engineering published by the Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use,
distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Y. Yu et al. New Hydraulic Pumping Unit
of heavy crude oil, whose reserves account for 85% of exceeding the limit of the offshore oil platform. The non-
total proven oil reserves. High- quality blocks gradually beam pumping unit includes a rotary motor- reversing
go into the late stage of development, which brings tre- drum pumping unit, a linear motor-reversing drum pump-
mendous difficulty to offshore crude oil production in ing unit, a mechanical reversing drum pumping unit, a
Bohai Bay oil region. Therefore, studying the development chain reversing pumping unit, a gear and rack reversing
of heavy crude oil occupy a pivotal position in reserves pumping unit, spiral reversing pumping unit, and other
discovery and application, capacity construction, and reversing pumping units [7]. The pumping unit with a
oilfield development of the Bohai Bay. long stroke and a low speed of nonbeam pumping unit
Currently, conventional offshore oilfields lifting technol- mainly has a chain pumping unit, a motor-reversing type
ogy mainly includes spray oil production and mechanical pumping unit, a gear and rack pumping unit, and a hy-
artificial lift oil production. With the gradually deep de- draulic pumping unit, etc. A chain pumping unit has a
velopment of the crude oil exploitation, the formation big occupied area, the motor-reversing type pumping unit
of the original pressure falling, artificial lift oil production uses the balanced weight box and has big weight, the
has gradually become a major offshore oil recovery scheme. gear and rack pumping unit has a complex structure and
Affected by the offshore platform size limit and drainage high weight, and all of them cannot be used on the off-
technology, offshore oilfields use submersible pumps as shore platform.
the main lifting equipment [3, 4]. However, problems The hydraulic pumping unit can adapt well to change
emerged as a result of using submersible pumps to develop in the well, with a compact construction and light weight,
heavy crude oil and marginal oil fields: the electric sub- and it transfers energy intensively and adapts to a wide
mersible pump restricts the process and temperature of range of operating conditions to make a long and low stroke,
heavy crude oil thermal recovery options. For more stable being adjustable in times and frequency of strokes [8].
production of offshore oil wells, their fluid production Currently, the hydraulic pumping unit can be divided
has fallen below the reasonable range of electric submers- into two kinds of hydraulic pumping units with a single
ible pump operation, and the efficiency of development counterweight and hydraulic pumping unit with no single
and cost dropped substantially, increasing the operating counterweight through the different way of balance [9].
and development costs. The hydraulic pumping unit with no single counterweight
Therefore, it has become an urgent need to study new including a hydraulic pumping unit adopted the tubing
offshore oilfield artificial lift way to meet the need of string to balance, hydraulic pumping unit adopted the
efficient development of heavy crude oil thermal and low- accumulator to balance, and hydraulic pumping unit
field wells. An artificial lift pumping mode consisting of adopted the tubing string and the accumulator to
pumping machine–rod–pumps is the most widely used balance.
among the oil exploration methods in the world. According The MaPe- mode drum- type long- stroke hydraulic
to statistics, 80% of onshore oil wells using this kind of pumping unit produced by France MaPe companies is a
the lift mode produced more than 75% of the total crude kind of nonbeam hydraulic pumping unit with long stroke
oil [5, 6]. So we can use three mature artificial lift pump- [10]. The application of a high- raised frame structure
ing modes onshore on the offshore oil platform, which enables this kind of pumping units to fulfill the task of
can solve many problems in offshore field exploitation. minor workover taking the place of service machines. The
Among them, three pumping lifting equipment R&D is stable reliable reversing lowers the load of the polished
the premise and key. rod, and the application of vertical construction ensures
a less occupied area, which makes it more suitable for
cluster wells and the recovery of heavy oil in marine
Overall Structural Design
areas. But counterbalance weight features a bigger total
The pumping unit is the ground driver device of three weight of this kind of pumping unit, which makes it
pumping artificial lift systems. The main type of the cur- hard for the offshore platform.
rent pumping unit has a beam pumping unit and a non- The hydraulic pumping unit made by Western Gear
beam pumping unit. The beam pumping unit includes a Corp (Harrison, Ohio, United States). America has the
conventional beam pumping unit, a front-mounted beam following three operation modes: manual operation, inch-
pumping unit, a variable parameters mechanism beam ing operation, and automatic operation [11]. The applica-
pumping unit, and a multiple rod mechanism beam pump- tion of monolithic low- rise structure makes sure of a
ing unit. Although the conventional beam pumping unit smaller overall dimension and convenient transportation.
is a mature technology in using and manufacturing ex- Low additional load enables the pumping unit to run
perience and the main rod pumping equipment, it has smoothly, which makes for a longer service life. This kind
larger overall weight, especially the size and space required of pumping unit can reduce the friction between the
© 2016 The Authors. Energy Science & Engineering published by the Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 353
New Hydraulic Pumping Unit Y. Yu et al.
354 © 2016 The Authors. Energy Science & Engineering published by the Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Y. Yu et al. New Hydraulic Pumping Unit
position, the hydraulic oil is pressed into the side bore Single well production fluid volume, pump diameter,
of the combined cylinder through the hydraulic lock, and pumping stroke times are shown in Figure 3.
pushing the load end to move upward with the help of Heavy crude oil production generally uses a principle
the load of the downstroke. The hydraulic oil in the of a large pump diameter, long stroke, and low stroke
mandrel of the combined cylinder is pressed into the times. Based on Figure 3, we can determine: Single well
energy storage device. liquid production is less than 100 m3/day, configure “70
pump + 5 meters pump stroke pump unit.” Single well
liquid production is between 100 and 150 m3/day, con-
Design Parameters
figure “80 pump +6 meters pump stroke pump unit.” If
single well liquid production is 150 m3/day, the hydraulic
Pumping stroke and stroke rate
pump unit stroke is 6 m, the stroke times is 4.32 min−1,
Daily pump displacement is: design and calculation according to the 5 min−1.
1
V = 24 × 60 × 𝜋d2 S ⋅ N ⋅ fp . (1)
4 Characteristics of suspended point
In this formula, d is the pump diameter S the (m2), Rod load calculation
pumping stroke (m), N the pumping stroke times (min−1),
and fp the pump efficiency (0.8). Based on the polished rod force balance, the mechanical
model for rod during the upstroke is as follows:
Fu + Ff + Fy = Gg + Go + Fp + Ft + Fg + Fo . (2)
Figure 3. Relationship between single well liquid production and pumping parameter. (A) 70 pump daily liquid production. (B) 80 pump daily liquid
production.
© 2016 The Authors. Energy Science & Engineering published by the Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 355
New Hydraulic Pumping Unit Y. Yu et al.
The velocity curve of pump suspension center can be n is a natural number in the formula.
designed for the sinusoidal or trapezoidal profile, wherein
the trapezoidal profile is divided into three stages: ac-
celeration, uniform speed, and deceleration; the acceleration Design of the main system
and deceleration phases account for 1/10 of the stroke As the combined hydraulic cylinder is the predominant
and the uniform phase accounts for 8/10 [16, 17]. actuator of this pump, its structure and performance de-
In Figure 4, we assume the equation of motion for termine the control strategies and the operating mode of
sine harmonic curve as follow: the system. The structure of the combined hydraulic cyl-
inder is shown in Figure 6.
V = A sin (𝜃t) (6)
The outer diameter of the combined hydraulic cylinder
We already know that the pump stroke times is 5 min−1 is Φ1, the inner diameter is Φ2, the outer diameter of
and the stroke is 6 m. Hence, we calculate that in the mandrel II is D1, the inner diameter is D2, the outer
Formula (6) A = 1.57, θ = π/6; thus, the maximum diameter of the piston rod III is d1, and the inner di-
speed of suspension point in the sinusoidal velocity curve ameter is d2.
is Vmax = 1.57 m/sec. When the depth of the heavy crude oil is 1000 m, the
For trapezoidal velocity profile, Vmax = 1.11 m/sec, pump submergence depth is 300 m, the wellhead back
which is equal to 70% the maximum in sinusoidal velocity pressure is 0 MPa, the maximum rod load of upstroke
curve. To decrease the flow rate of the hydraulic system, is 6.0 × 104 N, and the minimum rod load of downstroke
reduce the installed power, and the suspension center is 2.0 × 104 N.
velocity should be designed according to the trapezoid
curve mode. However, the acceleration curve of the trap-
Piston rod size
ezoidal velocity profile is not continuous, resulting in
generating periodic shock loads when deflected, causing The equivalent force of the load act on the piston rod
pumping vibration, and shortening the operating life of is Fh = 1.2 × 105 N, rod stroke is L = 3 m, so it is a
356 © 2016 The Authors. Energy Science & Engineering published by the Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Y. Yu et al. New Hydraulic Pumping Unit
Mandrel size
typical elongated bar; Euler’s formula should be used to The load of suspension center is 6.0 × 104 N and
calculate critical load Fk. 2.0 × 104 N in upstroke and downstroke, respectively,
A fix end and a free end of the column stability cal- and can be converted to the cylinder load
culated by the Euler formula [18] is as follows: Fmax = 1.2 × 105 N and Fmin = 0.4 × 105 N; thus, the
𝜋 2 EI balancing load of the accumulator is:
Fk = . (8)
(2L)2 Fmax − Fmin
Fp = Fmin + . (10)
In the formula, I is the moment of inertia of the piston 2
rod, E the elastic modulus (210 GPa), and L the length
Inner pressure of the piston rod:
of the piston rod (m).
According to the hydraulic cylinder manual [19], the Fp
stability coefficient is around 2–4. Because of the complex P3 = . (11)
offshore platform work environment, we should increase 1∕4𝜋d22
the strength and the durability of hydraulic cylinders, so
Spindle end force:
the safety factor takes nk = 4, thus:
1
F3 = . (12)
Fk (9) 4𝜋D21 − D22 P3
≥ Fh .
nk
According to the pressure bar stability Euler’s formula
Fk
According to equation (9), to meet the stability of nk
≥ F3 and equation (8), we can get:
sucker rod, we should decrease the overall size and weight
of the offshore platform by reducing the outer diameter √
256Fp nk L2
and the weight of piston rod. Here, α is defined as the D1 ≥ . (13)
2
ratio of the inner and the outer diameters of the piston d 𝜋 3 E (1 + 𝛽 2 )
2
© 2016 The Authors. Energy Science & Engineering published by the Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 357
New Hydraulic Pumping Unit Y. Yu et al.
Cylinder size
Considering the extreme conditions such as storage system
failing, the hydraulic cylinder can still work properly, the
thrust of the hydraulic cylinder is:
1 ( )
Ft = 𝜋 �22 − D21 P. (14)
4
Accumulator size
Accumulator selection is mainly determined by the volume
and the allowable working pressure. According to the
358 © 2016 The Authors. Energy Science & Engineering published by the Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Y. Yu et al. New Hydraulic Pumping Unit
characteristics of the accumulator working circuits, the designs the structure of the combined hydraulic cylinder
normal operating pressure is: in detail. An equal- sized laboratory prototype is made
based on mathematical models and the designing calcula-
Fp tion results. The prototype runs smoothly and meets the
Px = = 11.53 (MPa) . (17)
1
𝜋d22 laboratory requirements, which verifies the rationality and
4
effectiveness of the overall designing scheme and lays
When the pump unit is running, the pressure fluctua- foundations for the field test.
tion provided by the accumulator should be controlled The pumping unit is designed for offshore platform.
within 10% [19], thus, the minimum operating pressure Currently, offshore production utilizes electric submersible
of the accumulator circuit is Pmin = 10.38 MPa, the maxi- pump, and the operating process is as follows: produce
mum is Pmax = 12.68 MPa, and the charge pressure is stopping, pump lifting, steam injection, huff and puff
P0 = 0.85, Pmin = 8.82 MPa. flowing production, well killing, pump lowering then
The hydraulic stroke L = 3 m, the effective volume of production. The designing of suitable structured pumping
the accumulator is: unit can realize the replacement from electric submersible
1 pump to rod pump, then the integration of injection and
ΔV = 𝜋d22 L = 20.82 (l). (18) production. Thus, the operating process can be reduced
4
to steam injection, huff and puff flowing production, and
The working process of the accumulator is calculated production, which will greatly improve the operation
as isothermal process, the required volume of the accu- efficiency and reduce the cost.
mulator is:
ΔV Conflict of Interest
V= = 134.83 (l). (19)
P0 ∕Pmin − P0 ∕Pmax
None declared.
© 2016 The Authors. Energy Science & Engineering published by the Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 359
New Hydraulic Pumping Unit Y. Yu et al.
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