Printable View
How oil pumpjacks work.
<video controls autoplay loop> <source src="https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net/how_pumpjacks_work.mp4" type="video/mp4"> Your browser does not support the video tag. </video>
Previously:
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...269#post130848
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...967#post148950
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...482#post110702
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...173#post138380
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...881#post183579
This gif leaves off several key details the top beam is called the walking beam, on the top end of the beam is called the horse head there are 2 cables that ride in an arc over the face of the horse head called the Bridle the block that attaches them to the sucker rod that extends down hole is called the girdle block, the links attached to the crank arms are called the pitmen's which are attached at the top to the equalizer the pivot between the equalizer and the walking beam is simply called the equalizer bearing, the pivot in the center of the walking beam is called the saddle bearing, there are adjustable counter weights on the crank arms to balance out the weight of the column of oil being raised versus the weight going back down. when properly adjusted the weight both ways should be nearly equal. Pump jacks have been made in every type of configuration imaginable gear reduction driven roller chain and sprocket reductions truck rear ends have been used Hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders used both with and without walking beams, even linier electromagnets with disastrous results though
Does both the casing and sucker rod reach all the way down into the pool of oil?
the short answer is not quite all the way to the bottom.Quote:
Originally Posted by hemmjo
There are several stages to an oil well depending on depth and strata encountered while drilling. Starting off with a large ish diameter casing called the surface pipe. for wells under 6000 feet deep this is generally not much more than 8 or 10 inches and may go down anywhere from 90 to 300 feet usually less than 300 though, concrete is then pumped down it until the cement rises back to the surface around the outside allowed to set up then the plug id drilled out of the inside with a bit that is just smaller than the Id of the surface pipe and used to continue the bore hole to the desired depth, Ther surface pipe is also used to attach the blow out preventers and absolute must have to prevent pressure blow outs of high pressure gas sometimes the pressure can be contained with simply a squeeze off preventer but there are times when the blind ram has to be deployed shearing off the drill stem usually the start or ending of a bad day when you have to do that..
once the drilling operations are completed casing is then lowered into the bore hole all the way to the bottom and cemented in place. Oil is not always in pools as we know them but rather in a porous rock strata, but when there is pools of oil is when you get gushers which are sometimes difficult to deal with in known areas where these are likely to happen or in areas where it is suspected that there may be natural gas a Christmas tree of pipes and valves is usually mounted below the blowout preventer even sometimes a secondary casing is installed as the borehole deepens then a still smaller bit is used to drill with. This secondary casing may go down over 1000 feet these will also protect deep water aquafers from contamination as well. For porous rock strata wells IE non free flowing the borehole is drilled past the oil-bearing strata there can be more than 1 in a given well, the final casing is then installed all the way to within a few feet of the bottom of the borehole then cemented in place then explosives are used to perforate the casing in what is thought to be the best oil-bearing layer the layer may also require hydraulic fracturing where this can cause a problem is when there is an aquafer too close above or below the oil zone This is why well paid geological engineers are often found camping out on most drill sites, and the driller keeps meticulous records of their drill depths while the mud man takes random samples of the returns as they are drilling.
Once all other processes are done the pump barrel is lowered on a string of pipe to an optimal depth in the pay zone the sucker rods are inside of this.
Something telling us Frank S has a bit more info than from watching "How It's Made" and back to back "Dirty Jobs"?
Every time I watch those shows and know the truth of the item they show I talk to the TV way to much. Occasionally using rather short words. They skip a wee bit, make up a lot and gloss over the important parts.Quote:
Originally Posted by Toolmaker51
Mark
Same here, usually one sentence ahead, naming instruments and processes. The only good episode I recall was filmed building Starrett micrometer. Well detailed in both visual and verbal content.
THEN it all has to get to a refinery, by ship, truck or pipeline. Refined, then trucked to our local distributor. Then trucked to our local station.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank S
It is amazing to me fuel is actually as cheap is.
Fuel, IE gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and fertilizer are just a few of the thousands of products made from or owes their existence to by-products refined out of crude oil. At one time gasoline was considered a waste product and sold as cleaning solvent,Quote:
Originally Posted by hemmjo
Somehow (numbskull agenda) that formula's akimbo; forcing a commodity go OTR that belongs ITGDPL with a fashionably dressed mop laying out intricately worded rationalizations.Quote:
Originally Posted by hemmjo
With less availability than ever before, and the lowest grade MOST CRITICAL portion wreaking havoc on pricing; everything toothpicks to table napkins.