C-FER Technologies
Joint Industry Project (JIP)

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This website was created by C-FER Technologies to facilitate access to Project Information by the PCP Run Life Improvement (PCP-RLI) JIP Participants.

General Information on the PCP-RLI JIP is outlined below. PCP-RIFTS refers to the online PCP Reliability Information and Failure Tracking System, which is the main portion of the PCP-RLI JIP.

If your Company is a Participant in the JIP, and you were given access privileges (username and password), you may proceed to Login to the protected area of this website.

General Information on the PCP-RLI JIP and PCP-RIFTS

General Information is provided below on the following topics:

Background
Approach
Status
Deliverables
Benefits of Joining
Further Information


Background

Phase I

This JIP was initiated based on the interest of a group of Canadian heavy oil producers in identifying ways to significantly improve the average run life of PCPs.

Run lives of progressing cavity pumps (PCP) vary considerably and, in many cases, they remain relatively short, especially in heavy oil applications. The resultant equipment replacement and servicing costs, as well as production losses, contribute significantly to operating costs. Also, while the industry has climbed the learning curve quite rapidly with respect to PCP systems in the last twenty years, there is today still only a limited understanding the factors which affect pump performance and service life.

The work in Phase I, which was completed in April of 2003, included a combined field data gathering and synthesis effort on a selected set of representative fields in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, followed by comprehensive analysis of the collected data. Predominant failure mechanisms were identified in heavy and light oil applications, and the effects of several variables in failure rates were investigated. The Final Report documents conclusions and provides recommendations on how to achieve a reduction in failure rates and an improvement in run life through the implementation of better operating practices.

Phase II-VI

Phase II of the JIP focused on developing industry standards (i.e., for reporting and tracking PCP failures, as well as conducting PCP failure analysis). It also included the development of an internet-based Progressing Cavity Pump (PCP) Reliability Information and Failure Tracking System (PCP-RIFTS) to facilitate the sharing of PCP run life and failure information among Operators throughout the world.

Phases III and IV have continued with the development and population of the PCP-RIFTS database. Further analysis of the data is ongoing in Phases V and VI.


Approach

Given the success of the ESP-RIFTS initiative and the experience that C-FER acquired through the development of that system, the approach for developing PCP-RIFTS mirrors that of ESP-RIFTS. A standard failure nomenclature and common dataset of influential parameters have been developed. A database was constructed and is being continually populated with the data made available by the Participants (including data collected in Phase I). As well, a website interface was built, which includes the following features:

1. Secure, protected area only accessible to PCP-RLI JIP Participants;
2. Query tools to allow Users to retrieve records that satisfy a given set of conditions; and
3. Analysis tools to allow Users to construct tables and charts, and conduct a variety of statistical and reliability analyses with the available data.

The website also gives Participants access to additional Project information, including relevant documents, project meeting presentation materials, etc.


Status

The Project Website is fully operational, with more records being added to the system on a regular basis. Currently in Phase VII (i.e. May 2010), the database contains information on 12263 PCP installations, in 3828 wells in 111 different fields from 9 Operators. Several rounds of analyses, of various types, have been conducted, and will continue on an ongoing basis.


Deliverables

One of the main deliverables of this JIP is the continuous access by the Participants to Project Information, through a secure, protected area of the Project Website.

Note that the records in the system contain not only run-life data (such as install/start/stop/pull dates for each installation), but also ‘pertinent data’ such as well completion information, production and operational data, PCP equipment data, and information specific to the failures (from pull and teardown reports, and related failure analyses).

C-FER also provides the Participants with a PCP-RIFTS Data Input Sheet (DIS) to assist them in collecting data according to the standards established for the project, and to facilitate bringing their data into the system. The PCP-RIFTS DIS can also serve as a ‘local tracking system’ at the operational unit and field level.


Benefits of Joining

Tangible results from this industry-led initiative include:

• PCP Operators are able to benchmark their performance against others, considering differences and similarities in operational conditions;
• Operators are able to continuously identify opportunities for improvements, thus leading to more favorable economic results in all stages of a field development;
• Decision-makers are able to rely on hard reliability data, rather than on educated guesses or vendor indications, to support selection of an optimal solution for a specific application. The chances for economic success are therefore enhanced;
• Operators and vendors are able to focus on relevant technology developments to resolve key problems and expand the application range of PCPs; and
• What-if scenario analyses (e.g., to determine expected run-life and predominant failure mechanisms for a new set of operating conditions) are possible, because data on a wide variety of applications and equipment characteristics is readily accessible.

Further Information

If you need further information, please contact C-FER.