Are you in the oil and gas production business or interested in one? Before diving headfirst into the unknown and investing insane amounts of money for something you’re not familiar with, you might want to be familiar with how some of the things work first. An excellent place to start with is how the hydrocarbons deposited deep in the earth are brought to the surface. Regardless of the mechanical lift used, oil production will certainly involve using a pump configuration to get the hydrocarbons to the surface. Here are the different styles of pumps used in the downhole pump designs in the oil and gas industry.
Insert Pumps
This type of pump is already a complete working pump that gets “inserted” into the tubing. It can contain either a moving barrel or a stationary one. It can also be anchored to the top or the bottom. Depending on these configurations, insert pumps are divided into three styles. The first one, the “stationary barrel, bottom anchor,” is the most accepted configuration of the insert pump. It is applied in shallow to very deep wells. The second is the “stationary barrel, top anchor,” which is great for shallow, sandy wells. Last is the “traveling barrel, bottom anchor,” which is perfect for pumping heavy crude oils. It is designed to have a better defense against bursting.
Tubing Pumps
Tubing pumps are placed down the hole as a portion of the tubing string, which is what makes it unique from insert pumps. The main advantage of tubing pumps over insert pumps is that they can pump large volumes easily. The downside, however, is that it’s a pain to maintain and service since you need to remove the tubing string before you can remove it for repairs. Depending on the needs of tubing pump, Oklahoma oil fields would go with tubing pumps if they want high volume production in a shorter time.
Other Styles
Aside from the various configurations of insert pumps and tubing pumps, there are still other downhole pump styles available. Most of them are variations of the ones mentioned above, while there are a few which are customized to meet the specific requirements of each install. There’s no one-size-fits-all solutions for this industry, as each operation can have its quirks that pump manufacturers need to address. That is why they need to be hands-on, not only in the installation process but also during daily operations. After all, this is a multi-million dollar business, so any stoppage due to machine failure is sure to be costly.
Now that you have read some of the most common styles of the pump in the oil and gas industry, perhaps you’d want to consider studying more about the other topics related to them. It’s great to be familiar with the basic components of the business you want to invest in so that you will know where your money will go. It’s also wise to consider other options aside from the types listed here, as each situation can be different, and you might want a custom-fit pump style for your operations.