Well History File & Records Background
It is not the lease pumper’s responsibility to record and maintain the company’s permanent records.
However, to be more successful the pumper needs to understand lease records and recognize what is happening on the lease by examining these records and noting changes that may be occurring daily.
By examining the production records being submitted, the company supervisor can assess part of the production changes that are occurring.
And, the pumper can see these changes daily and should be able to bring them to the supervisor’s attention.
To be able to make an educated analysis of what is occurring at the wells, the pumper can maintain the lease records book described in the previous section to assist in recognizing lease changes as they occur.
Most field supervisors will support the pumper in this effort by providing information from permanent drilling and well records.
Lease Drilling Records
The well drilling record is maintained for the life of the well. It not only records the completion and initial tests of the completed well, but it also contains information about the reservoir and future changes to the well that may extend its producing life.
The pumper does not need to see the complete drilling record, but a few items from it will provide an understanding of downhole pipe arrangements. Useful information about each well include:
The year it was drilled.
Initial production of water, oil, and gas.
Depth and size of casing.
Depth from wellhead to perforations.
Number of perforations and spread.
How much open hole is in the well.
The distance from the kelly bushing to the wellhead.
The casing size and perforation record is referenced every time a change is made in the tubing string to place temporary tubing perforations in the desired position in reference to the permanent casing perforations.
The pumper also needs to know how many perforations were made and the distance from the top to the lowest perforation. Occasionally, more than one zone has been perforated. Other important information is included such as any open hole.
When re-completing the well, raising or lowering the casing perforations, or performing many other work-over procedures, this record is vital to the job:
Pumping Unit Information
Pumping unit information may include:
Manufacturer tag information.
Direction of rotation.
Service records and requirements.
Belts, sheaves, shafts, keyways, and adjustments available.
Stroke lengths, gear ratios, strokes per minute, etc.
Wellhead Records
Wellhead records include only that information that the pumper needs to know about the wellhead. This includes only those items that can be seen on the wellhead.
When the pumper has a wellhead problem, there is an immediate need to know such information.
As an illustration, assume that the pumper has just pulled a well and does not have the correct pony rods to finalize the spacing of the rods. Every pumping well in the field usually has a lift pony rod on it, so what size are they and where are they located?
If a well servicing crew is waiting to continue spacing the rods and charging for being on the lease, knowing where to find an appropriate pony rod may save the company a great deal of money.
Data that the pumper may need to know include:
Length of polished rods.
Dimensions of the rod liner.
Gasket sizes.
Stuffing box information.
Packing information.
Polished rod clamp bolts—number, diameter, length, etc.
Types of valves installed on the wellhead.
Information about other components on the wellhead.
Casing Records
Most companies require that rods and tubing be installed in a very specific manner. Tubing perforations must be a specific distance above, even with, or below casing perforations. The gas anchor must be a specific length. The pumper needs to learn how the company prefers these to be set before making decisions when supervising a well servicing crew pulling a well on one of the leases.
Tubing and Packer Information
Every time a problem is encountered while pulling tubing or unseating or reseating a packer, this record needs to be available.
It lists the quality of the tubing, a measurement of every joint in the string, the manufacturer, size and type of packer or hold down, instructions on how to unlatch or release it, how to place it back into service, and the distance from the wellhead to the tubing perforations.
The two records that the lease pumper should maintain about the tubing string are:
A tubing tally and description sheet.
A record of when the tubing string was pulled with a description of the problem and solution.
Tubing records must be exact. As the pumper runs pipe in the hole, the item going in first is listed first, then the second, and so forth. After the string has been run in the hole and the job has been completed, it is listed again by turning it around, because the last item that went in is on top and the final list is from the top down.
The thread of a joint of tubing is approximately 1.5 inches long. The pumper may measure a joint over-all as it is run in the hole, measured without the thread for more accuracy, or actually lifted off the slips and measured from the top of one collar to the top of the next collar for total accuracy.
Packers and Holddowns
A packer or holddown may stay in a well for many years before it needs to be pulled.
The well record needs to list the packer manufacturer, the type of packer, and setting and release instructions. When the pumper runs a new packer or makes a change in a well, this information must also be submitted to the company office so that this record can be updated and corrected.
The hole, measured without the thread for more accuracy, or actually lifted off the slips and measured from the top of one collar to the top of the next collar for total accuracy.
Normally, just measuring it without threads is acceptable for most installations. If the pumper has 200 joints in the hole, and are measuring overall, perforations will be approximately thirty feet above what the tally shows less pipe stretch.
Pulling Tension on the Tubing String
Deeper wells have a bottom holddown on the tubing string to stop any breathing of the tubing and the resulting wear on the pipe. A well over 10,000 feet deep may have more than 25,000 pounds of tension plus the weight of the tubing.
This may exceed 100,000 pounds on the weight indicator as the tubing hanger seats. The pumper needs to know this before pulling the well.
Sucker Rods, Pump Design, and Service Records
The records that the lease pumper may maintain on each pumping well are:
A rod tally and description sheet.
Complete description of the bottom hole pump.
A record of each time the rod string was pulled for the past few years and a description of the problems and solutions.
These records are important when a problem occurs with the rod string or downhole pump. When a well is pulled, the length of the removed pump is compared to the length of the replacement pump.
The length of the stroke can also be compared as well as the style of the pump. When the pump is laid down, pumps are placed side by side and visually verified.
The replacement pump is bucket tested to verify its ability to pump before it is run into the hole.
When the pulling record is sent in from the field to the office, the pump description tag, which is attached to the replacement pump, should be attached to the materials transfer and repair sheets.
It can be important for the lease pumper to be able to refer to the lease records book to determine how long the pump was in the hole and compare it to the last several pull dates.
This gives instant insight into the success of pump repairs as well as possibly indicating why pumps are failing.
Sometimes a minor change or upgrade in the pump design can double the length of time that it will last in the well without replacement, dramatically reducing downtime and pulling costs.
The lease pumper can make suggestions to the supervisor concerning questions or conclusions that can be observed with good lease performance information.
Current Rod Servicing Records
The procedure for listing a rod string is similar to the procedure for listing tubing except for the full sucker rods.
Since all of these are 25, 30, or 371⁄2 feet, the pumper only needs to list the number in the hole. If rods have stretched, there can be many feet of stretch in each rod, so the length of the rod string will not correlate exactly with the length of the tubing string.
While the rods are hanging in the derrick, however, the pumper can see at a glance the amount of stretch that has been pulled into the rods.
Past Rod Pulling Record
It is important that the lease pumper knows the dates that the well has been pulled in the past. A pump will last similar lengths of time.
If the pump normally lasts for two years, and it has failed after four months, the pumper should first suspect a problem other than the pump.
The pulling record is very informative when production begins to decline. The problem may involve more than one well.
The listing sheet is simple to set up. The lease pumper needs only take a lined sheet of paper and draw vertical lines and add headings. This sheet can be individual for each well or a lease record, listing all wells on one sheet. The information headings should be similar to the following:
Electrical Information
Information regarding prime mover equipment should include electrical control boxes, fuses, motors, and engine maintenance information. All sections of the lease records book are important, but the electrical section is especially important if the pumper does not have much basic knowledge of electrical systems.
Control boxes and fuse information
The lease may use several types of electrical control boxes, but two are most common— the simple arm action fuse box and the automated style containing the time clock, manual and automated controls, and appropriate safety and protective considerations.
Most lease pumpers do not work on automated control panels. However, they do affect the lease pumper in that the pumper may have to call out an electrician.
If the pumper can supply the electrician with the manufacturer and number of the parts contained in the panel, the electrician can bring correct repair parts. This can save at least a day in repair time.
The following may need to be identified:
Style.
Fuse size, current handling capacity rating, and description.
Transformer.
Time clock or percentage timer.
Manual motor reset starter.
Overload relays.
Temperature safety breakers.
Lightning arrester.
Electrical motor information
When listing the information contained on the plate of the electric motor, the pumper needs to list everything available and take some measurements.
Other Well Record Information
Engine information should include engine identification, servicing, repair, and accessory information. This can be included on one general sheet. The pumper may prefer to make a list showing a schedule for servicing.
Special workover records should describe the workover and report fishing or other problems. This includes problems such as drilling out scale, stuck pipe, or fracking a well. Some companies simply add some of this information as an update to appropriate parts of the well records.