American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2024 - 49

used, he recalls.
The companies re-engineered the pump
to improve metallurgies, production capacity
and gas handling capability so it
could be installed in the Permian's deviated
wells, Gonzalez relates. Gas can be the
enemy of any plunger pump, he points
out, but with its intake at the top, the
LESP allows more natural separation. It
also includes an auxiliary gas separator
to help process internal fluid before it
enters the barrel.
For wells with higher levels of gas interference,
some operators choose to run
an additional vortex regulator under the
LESP string, a device that further controls
gas slugs from the reservoir by converting
them into manageable bubbles and channeling
them back up to the pump's intake,
he says.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February
2022 forced an emergency relocation
to Poland of Triol's plant near the Russian
border and delayed U.S. rollout considerably,
but the re-located plant now is
operational. Permian operators interested
in the concept from the start stuck with
plans to continue field trials, Gonzalez
concludes.
High-Flow PAGL
The amount of fluid that plunger-assisted
gas lift systems can reliably bring
to surface continues to increase, says
Justin Lake, general manager of plunger
lift at Endurance Lift Solutions. For highvolume
wells, he frequently recommends
a two-piece, ball-and-sleeve-style plunger
with a huge bypass and flow path that allows
it to fall through high-pressure gas
quickly and reliably. This capability virtually
eliminates the need to shut in the
well during each cycle, enabling the
plunger to complete more cycles and lift
more fluid, he says.
For applications where dry impacts
can cause premature plunger failures, the
company has introduced a patent-pending,
single-piece dart plunger, which is the
first of its kind with no threaded connections
on the plunger body, Lake says.
Eliminating the multithreaded and crimped
connections traditionally employed minimizes
potential weak points in the plunger,
enabling it to run longer. A unique adjustable
clutch mechanism also contributes
to the tool's long run life, he adds.
To improve durability, plungers can
be treated with boron carbide (B4C) to
strengthen their surfaces' resistance to
corrosion, abrasion and mechanical wear,
Lake continues. In field trials, the treatment
has extended the run time of sleeve and
dart-style plungers as much as four times,
he reports.
This surface treatment can be particularly
helpful in problematic sandy or
paraffin-producing wells, Lake suggests.
In these applications, plungers tend to
wear out quickly or get stuck at the
surface, requiring regular hot oiling. In
contrast, B4C-treated plungers have a
proven history of long run lives, even in
challenging conditions, Lake says.
According to Anthony Mason, Endurance's
senior vice president, the surface
treatment also can prolong gas lift mandrels'
life in difficult well environments,
such as ones where hydrogen sulfide is
present.
" We have also successfully used the
treatment on other artificial components,
including rod pump parts, motor valve
trim kits and ESP stages, " Mason reports.
" Along with improvements in equipment
designs, it is helping reduce downtime
and the costs associated with replacing
equipment. "
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This single-piece, non-threaded dart plunger can extend replacement intervals in
applications that involve frequent dry impacts, Endurance Lift Solutions reports. Because
its body lacks multithreaded or crimped connections, it has fewer weak points than
traditional designs, the company explains.
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