December 1, 2015
As a general industry standard, properly torqued EUE lubricator threads fail at around 125,000lbs and Bowen box threads tend to release over 200,000lbs. That being said, industry standards for plunger lift lubricators have come a long way. Today the industry is close to a new API PL 11 designated standard for lubricator metallurgy, weight, configuration and spring metallurgy (NACE compliant, engineered compression ratios ect).
Nevertheless, there is still a gap. While you can engineer a lubricator to survive rogue impacts, it is preferable to eliminate those impacts altogether, through advanced monitoring, warning, and preventative action controls. This will ensure the lubricator’s integrity is not compromised, people are unharmed and overall equipment maintenance can be minimized. With ETC’s Sasquatch plunger velocity sensor, you can ensure that the lubricator is never exposed to dangerous impact and that safety is maintained with its intelligent plunger lift advanced warning system.
The Sasquatch plunger velocity sensor has been in field testing for the past six months. During this time, ETC validated Sasquatch on production wells by performing real time monitoring of plunger arrivals and correlating well conditions (average velocities using traditional plunger arrival sensor and casing, tubing and line pressures) with instantaneous velocity. What was noted is that instantaneous velocity can far exceed average velocity at the point of impact.
When tied into a control valve, the Sasquatch safety sensor will be able to shut the system down, preventing further catastrophic impacts. You will note in the graph below that during most cycles the instantaneous surface velocity was notably different from the average velocity, and in some cases dangerously so. The deeper the well, or the higher the permeability and porosity of the formation, the more potentially violent the impact.
The Sasquatch is the next step in the protection of our people, production and environment.
Extreme Telematics Corp.
5925 12th Street SE, Bay 14
Calgary, Alberta T2H 2M3