NORRIS+THETA. We ve taken the best and made it better.

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1 NORRIS+THETA We ve taken the best and made it better. For over 125 years Norris has focused on product quality, performance, and customer service. Now, the leader in the Rod Lift market has acquired the leader in Rod Pumping Optimization software and training, Theta Oilfield Services, Inc. With the addition of products like RODSTAR, XDIAG, XSPOC, and CBALANCE, Norris now offers a complete solution to your artificial lift requirements from artificial lift systems to smart field automation technology. Let the Norris family of products help you get the most out of your production investment. THETA OILFIELD SERVICES, INC.

2 Technology in the service sector XSPOC: Powerful computing technology for the oilfield Figure 1 - Well status overview By TERRY TREIBERG Theta Oilfield Services The use of computing technology in the oilfield has become the norm in today s operations. Particularly over the last decade, we have seen a large increase in automation and communications technology that allows great volumes of data to be gathered in electronic format at the production office. The challenge, however, has been in how to best use this information. Often the data is difficult to view, organize, or analyze which often negates any benefits it would otherwise provide. Another frustration for the end-user of this data is that it often resides in multiple systems, requiring several applications to really give the user a good overview of any particular issue at hand. This article will highlight some of the features of the XSPOC software, which provides customers with the critical data needed to make key decisions in their production processes. XSPOC is currently being used to operate about 23,000 wells in oilfields throughout the world. The product s international scope is now firmly established, with sizable installations in Canada, Russia, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Indonesia and Germany. Exceptions and reporting With the aggressive drilling programs over the last few years, most oil companies are operating many more wells than they have in the past, and often with the same number of staff or even less. Managing wells based on exception conditions becomes very important in these operations. We know that most wells in any given field are operating nearly the same today as they did yesterday. Even in a field of several hundred wells, it may only be a handful of wells that have developed any noteworthy problems over the last day or two. To be efficient, it is desirable to 3

3 leaks, or wells that have severe fluid pound. The user can then review an individuals well s diagnostics on the Well Diagnostics screen (Figure 2). Once any problems are identified, XSPOC s data can flow seamlessly into Theta s RODSTAR design program, so these problems can be fixed. RODSTAR then provides the simulation to show how the well will operate once the equipment is modified or the operational parameters are changed. Jeff Minnick, a well analyst for ConocoPhillips in the Penwell Field in West Texas states, The automatic analysis feature combined with customized exception groups allow us to identify downhole problems much sooner. This gives us the opportunity to assign the well to the rig schedule much quicker, resulting in less downtime and less production loss. only focus on wells that are operating outside of normal parameters. XSPOC allows a user to setup any combination of filter conditions to identify these wells very quickly. Examples of filter conditions might be all wells that have fluid levels greater than 500 or all wells that have overloaded gearboxes. By clicking on a single button, the user will immediately see the wells that meet that condition based on real-time data. Users can modify and create their own exceptions, which is critical because the useful operational filters can vary from field to field. The Belridge Field operated by Aera Energy has several thousand wells on XSPOC, with hundreds of operational filter groups that help them to find critical exceptions. Gary McQuerry, a well analyst for BP in West Texas says, When given a large number of wells to monitor, XSPOC is very beneficial in zeroing in on wells with immediate problems, or wells which have, for some reason over time, moved outside of my preset boundaries for things such as runtime, cycles per day, min/max loads, etc. Figure 2 - Well diagnostics screen Once a well is identified as an exception, the user can drill-down into screens for individual wells that will assist in diagnosing the cause of the problem and in recommending potential remedies. The well status overview (Figure 1) is an example of a screen that provides detailed operational data to the user in real-time. Automatic reports can be setup to print daily, or even ed to the users to provide them with a summary of any critical exception groups. Rod pumping analysis with XDIAG XSPOC has Theta Oilfield Services powerful XDIAG analysis engine built into it. It allows daily processing of dynamometer data gathered from pump-off controllers in order to provide full diagnostics reporting. It not only checks for overloaded equipment, but also uses pattern-recognition technology in conjunction with logic to give the users reliable information regarding pumping condition. Clicking a single button can instantly give the user a list of all wells that have traveling valve Economics of rod pumping automation The combination of pump-off controllers used with powerful host software like XSPOC can usually be justified quite easily in today s economic environment. There are generally three components that drive the economic justification for automation: (1) increased production, (2) lowering of well maintenance costs, and (3) electricity expense savings. Increased production results from being able to ensure the well is fully pumpedoff to minimize pump intake pressure. There is also an increase in production associated with reducing failures since the well is down for repairs less frequently. Maintenance costs are reduced because fluid pound can be minimized, and because the number of pump strokes is usually reduced. If there is a well problem, the expert analysis tells the operator what is actually wrong with the pumping system. Once the operator eliminates the problem with an improved system design, future failures will be reduced. Finally, the operator can reduce his electricity costs by running the wells fewer hours each day, as the controller will only be operating the well when fluid is available to be pumped. Figure 3 shows an example of typical economic results from projects in California over the last several years. At today's oil prices, these projects can pay for themselves in less than six months. 4

4 Integration with other systems XSPOC is built on top of Microsoft s SQL Server database technology. This allows great flexibility in the area of data integration. In order for XSPOC to perform its tasks, it needs data that is commonly stored on other systems. Examples of this data would be production test data and well equipment data. Figure 4 illustrates the types of systems that XSPOC can integrate with. Theta has designed modules that enable XSPOC to use data stored in third-party systems, such as Landmark s DIMS or Peloton s WellView well management systems. For production information, XSPOC can import this data from other third-party databases, such as Schlumberger s FieldView. Sharing this information means that the user only needs to enter it one time, and does not have to worry about the data being inconsistent in different systems. Having one point of entry for the data will result in greater data integrity. The accuracy of the data is extremely important to the diagnostics, as erroneous data leads to wrong conclusions in the analysis results. Support for many devices Many of today s hardware devices that actually control operations at the wellhead are very sophisticated. One of XSPOC s roles is to interface with these devices in a user-friendly way, without sacrificing the ability to support the full feature set of these devices. Lufkin Automation s SAM pump-off controller is an example of a powerful device that is seamlessly integrated with XSPOC. Andy Cordova, general sales manager for Lufkin Automation says, XSPOC has allowed users to take advantage of the Lufkin SAM Well Manager s technology of controlling off the downhole pump card every stroke and monitoring from a central system. Support of Sam s advanced features in XSPOC is the best in the industry and is bringing great value to the operators. XSPOC can be used to start and stop wells, and to remotely change any control setpoints that affect how the controller operates. Jeremy Stewart with Apache Canada states, The twoway communications with the Lufkin Figure 3 - Rod pumping automation economic benefits SAM controllers saves our operators hours per week with uploading and downloading of setpoints. XSPOC also supports a wide array of other automation hardware used in the oilfield, with nearly 40 different devices today. This translates into XSPOC being Figure 4 - Data integration with XSPOC used for much more than just rodpumped wells. Theta s customers are using it with progressive cavity pumps, electrical submersible pumps, injectors, gas meters (EFM), well test facilities, tank batteries and other oilfield facilities. Since XSPOC also supports a 5

5 generic MODBUS protocol device, any device that is MODBUS capable is automatically capable of interfacing with XSPOC. XSPOC offers an easy-to-use alarm notification package that supports dial-up capabilities and messaging. Theta also offers a solution where customers can view their wells over the Internet, with all data hosting being provided by Theta. This provides a very affordable option for customers that may only have a handful of automated wells, but wish to have the power of XSPOC automation at a reasonable cost. The road ahead The XSPOC software is constantly evolving, with new capabilities being added continually. There are plans underway to develop enhanced capabilities for electrical submersible pumps, progressive cavity pumps and plunger lift. Theta also understands that even more powerful decision analysis can be performed with better financial data, and with well failure data. With the addition of this type of data, full economic analysis and well work prioritization could be performed automatically instead of the very manual process that is typically done today. These are the types of features that Theta believes will give even greater power to their users in the near future. About the Author: Terry Treiberg is the XSPOC product manager for Theta Oilfield Services. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the SD School of Mines and Technology. He has been involved in using computer technology in production optimization processes for 20 years, with his career starting at Shell Oil in 1987 prior to joining Theta in Notes 6

6 THETA OILFIELD SERVICES, I NC. CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS OFFICE: Sales, Technical Support for RODSTAR-V, RODSTAR-D, RODDIAG, XDIAG, CBALANCE and DYNOSTAR, T1 Dyno, XTOOLS training, and consulting services. Theta Oilfield Services, Inc East Lambert Road Suite 108 La Habra, CA USA Phone # (562) Fax # (562) Efax # (714) Home Page: sales@gotheta.com BAKERSFIELD DIVISION OFFICE: XSPOC development and technical support. Theta Oilfield Services, Inc Office Park Drive Suite 215 Bakersfield, CA USA Phone # (661) Efax # (240) Website: terry@xspoc.com MIDLAND REGION SALES MANAGER: Marlene Leonard Phone # (432)