In a highly deviated horizontal well (with an inclination of approximately 74°) operated by Xinchun Company in the Shengli Oilfield, production faced significant thermal recovery constraints. When the wellhead temperature dropped to 50°C, operating parameters had to be downgraded, allowing production to be sustained for only 10 days. As the temperature further declined to 40.5°C, the legacy artificial lift equipment (a belt-driven pumping unit) experienced sluggish polished rod descent (rod float), forcing an immediate transition to steam injection. Furthermore, the original equipment was incapable of supporting integrated injection and production, which resulted in poor thermal utilization efficiency and high artificial lift costs.

I. IntelliCPCP® Design Logic

As a highly deviated well, it is particularly susceptible to rod-tubing eccentric wear during the late stages of production. To address this challenge, the IntelliCPCP® system leverages the RodSavior™ anti-wear optimization system. This technology effectively bears the combined weight of the sucker rod string and the fluid column within the tubing, controlling and mitigating the lateral loads induced by non-uniform rod string buckling. Consequently, this prevents mechanical damage caused by excessive bending of the rod string.

Load Balancing

By utilizing a surface lifting mechanism, the IntelliCPCP® system applies upward tension to the sucker rod, bearing a portion of the rod string's weight. This ensures uniform load distribution along the rod string, thereby mitigating helical buckling induced by its own weight. Working in tandem with the lifting assembly, the RodSavior™ system reduces lateral loads on the sucker rods, preventing the rod string from resting heavily against the inner wall of the tubing. This not only minimizes frictional drag and lowers operational energy consumption, but also prevents mechanical wear and fatigue failure caused by excessive rod bending.

Dynamic Adjustment of Rotor-Stator Clearance

As the well enters the late stages of production, the wellhead temperature declines and crude oil viscosity increases, resulting in greater flow resistance through the pump cavity and elevated operating torque. Consequently, the legacy belt-driven pumping unit suffers from sluggish polished rod descent (rod float) and shortened production cycles.

To overcome these challenges, the IntelliCPCP® system leverages edge computing algorithms to acquire real-time operational data—including torque, fluid production rates, and rotational speed—enabling intelligent dynamic rotor-stator clearance control tailored to actual downhole conditions.

Utilizing the surface lifting system assembly, the IntelliCPCP® precisely adjusts the axial position of the conical rotor within the stator. Thanks to its proprietary all-metal conical structure, the system effectively translates the rotor's axial displacement into specific radial clearance variations.

When downhole temperatures drop and crude viscosity surges in the late production phase, the IntelliCPCP® automatically expands the rotor-stator clearance. This reduces the fluid flow resistance, driving down both operating torque and overall mechanical load. Ultimately, the IntelliCPCP® provides adaptive, autonomous adjustments in response to changing downhole environments, ensuring optimal artificial lift performance is continuously maintained.

As the legacy artificial lift equipment lacked the capability for integrated injection and production, operations required frequent changeovers between steam injection and oil recovery. Resuming production following steam injection necessitated repeated tripping of the tubing string, which resulted in poor thermal utilization efficiency and inflated artificial lift costs.

The IntelliCPCP® system overcomes these challenges by implementing Tubing-String-In-Place (TSIP) integrated injection and production technology:

Steam Injection Phase

During the steam injection phase, the surface lifting system hoists the sucker rod string. Simultaneously, the THERMOLOCK® sealing mechanism secures the wellhead seal, and the downhole all-metal conical rotor is synchronously lifted to open a clear flow path for steam injection. Concurrently, a wellhead steam filter mitigates the ingress of impurities into the pump cavity, ensuring wellhead integrity is maintained throughout the injection process.

Production Phase

Following the completion of steam injection, the surface lifting system lowers the rotor back into the stator to immediately resume production operations. This enables a seamless transition between the steam injection and production flow paths within the exact same tubing string.

By integrating steam injection and production phases without the need to replace or pull the string, this Tubing-String-In-Place (TSIP) approach drastically reduces tripping frequency. Ultimately, it significantly enhances operational continuity, drives down operational costs, and ensures long-term wellhead integrity.

II. IntelliCPCP® Field Application Results

Following the deployment of the IntelliCPCP® system, the well demonstrated significant improvements in key operational metrics throughout the production cycle:

• Average daily fluid production increased by 26.84%.

• Average daily oil production increased by 3.55%.

• Achieved an average energy savings of 61.13%.

The IntelliCPCP® system effectively counterbalances rod string loads to eliminate mechanical eccentric wear, while dynamically controlling the rotor-stator clearance to ensure the stable artificial lift of high-viscosity fluids. Furthermore, the Tubing-String-In-Place (TSIP) integrated injection and production technology facilitates a seamless transition between steam injection and oil recovery. This mitigates the operational costs and thermal losses associated with frequent tubing tripping, thereby significantly extending the overall production cycle.

III. Conclusion

In its late production lifecycle, the well faced challenges such as rod-tubing eccentric wear, excessively high crude oil viscosity, and the legacy equipment's inability to support Tubing-String-In-Place (TSIP) integrated injection and production.

The IntelliCPCP® system addresses these issues by using a rod-tubing wear optimization system to minimize mechanical eccentric wear, dynamically adjusting the rotor-stator clearance to lower operating torque during high-viscosity phases, and relying on TSIP technology to reduce the number of tubing interventions required for frequent steam injection and production resumption.

For oilfield operators, this translates to an extended production cycle and significantly reduced artificial lift operating costs.