Case Study – Coalinga

The Coalinga, CA Case Study

by Katie Krupla

Coalinga, California

Let’s compare Apples to Apples or in this case Pumps to Pumps

Introduction

The goal of this Case Study was to analyze FARR Plunger performance based on data from the Coalinga field to compare the performance of the FARR Plunger to other plungers used in the same wells. Based on field observations, the FARR was suspected to provide longer runtimes on average and require fewer well pulls than other plungers used in the same wells. Ultimately the purpose was to determine if the observations could be supported by quantitative analysis, and if so, see how much longer FARR runtimes were on average.

Case Facts

Sand

Wells operate in very sandy conditions

1.5

Data was collected over a 1.5 year period

700

Over 700 producing wells in Coalinga field

10k

Average cost of each well pull

Industry Insight

Design flaw for Conventional Plungers

Virtually every other rod pump plunger design all contain the same fatal flaw when it comes to dealing with sand or solids. It’s the connector at the top. Having the connector at the top creates a funnel and wedge effect, pushing the sand outward between the plunger and pump barrel, causing premature failures. The FARR Plunger prevents both the funnel effect and wedge effect, with its patented open top design, keeping the sand from getting between the pump barrel wall and plunger.

The Battle of Runtimes

Paragraph setting up how stats were collected. In order to keep the match up fair 2 different pump shops were used for the study in different locations along side FARR. All pumps were tested in different geogrpahical areas so there would be no bias that one was tested in more trying terrain over the others. This allowed for no statistical difference between the two. Assembly bias was not an issue. FARR ultimately had a 216% longer projected median runtime.

The Results are Clear:

The FARR Plunger pump has a 216% longer runtime over the average sand tolerent pump.

Case Study Graph

Analysis of Surviving Pumps vs Run Days

The survival plot shows that there is no statistical difference between the two pump bore sizes based on the overlapping curves and additional statistical analysis. We conclude that the FARR runtime data is not biased based on pump bore size.

Are your sandy wells getting you 470 days run time?
With the Farr Plunger it is possible!

“As the percent of FARR Plungers still running decreases, it will be interesting to see how much greater the percent improvement gets.”

Katie Krupla
Case Study Director

All said and done, during a time in the industry when every dollar counts

•per 100 FARR plungers installed•

Savings of $874,368 per year