American Petroleum Institute

Recommended Practice for Design Calculations for Sucker Rod Pumping Systems (Conventional Units) - Fourth Edition * Errata 10/1988
 N RP 11L ERTA

Annotation

In 1964 a group of users and manufacturers of sucker rod pumping equipment undertook a study in depth of the many complex problems associated with this means of lifting fluid from a well. To control and direct the effort, Sucker Rod Pumping Research, Incorporated, a non-profit organization was created. The services of Midwest Research Institute at Kansas City were retained to perform the work necessary to achieve the objectives of the organization.

The design calculations are based on correlations of the test data that were obtained during the research phase of the project. Sucker Rod Pumping Research, Incorporated, before its dissolution, released these correlated test results to American Petroleum Institute for publication. This Recommended Practice for the Design Calculations of Sucker Rod Pumping Systems using conventional pumping units is based on these correlations.

Three discussions included in the final reports of test results by Midwest Research Institute have been published for permanent reference in API Drilling and Production Practice (1968), p. 232 under the title "Electric Analog Study of Sucker-rod Pumping Systems." These discussions include the following topics :

a. Vibration Characteristics of Sucker-rod Strings

b. Physical Characteristics of Sucker Rods

c. Dimensional Analysis of Sucker-rod Pumping Systems

A catalog of over 1100 dynamometer cards derived from the electronic analog computer for many combinations of the independent non-dimensional parameters Fo/Skr and N/NO was included in the material released to API by Sucker Rod Pumping Research, Inc. This catalog has been printed as Bulletin 11L2 and is available from API Production Department, Dallas, Texas.