Method for improving the efficiency of diagnosing sucker rod parting and twist-off

This paper proposes a method for diagnosing bottomhole rod parting or twist-off and transmitting data from the bottomhole to the wellhead via an electrical circuit consisting of the "sucker rod string – downhole pump – tubing string". This approach aims to improve the reliability of identifying the causes of unscheduled shutdowns and to optimize workover planning.

Theoretical calculations of the electrical resistance for both closed and open circuits were performed. Field resistance measurements were conducted on 10 producing wells using an APPA 62 digital multimeter, alongside an analysis of electromagnetic interference using an AKIP-4107 oscilloscope.

The method was field-tested on three wells at the Yelnikovskoye field (wells 68A, 4051, and 2823), which had preliminary diagnoses of rod parting/twist-off based on dynamometer cards. It was established that the average measured resistance of a closed circuit is 2.5 Ω (calculated value: 1.41 Ω), whereas simulating a parting (e.g., an unseated pump) causes the resistance to increase to 6–1000 Ω (calculated value: 200 Ω). This difference in orders of magnitude confirms the technical feasibility of reliably transmitting discrete signals. Field tests demonstrated that in the event of a bottomhole rod parting or twist-off, the circuit resistance increases to the megaohm range (e.g., 3.79 MΩ for well 68A). This provides unambiguous identification of a parting, unlike traditional dynamometer card analysis, which cannot reliably differentiate between rod parting/twist-off and pump valve malfunctions.

The developed method enables reliable detection of bottomhole rod parting, thereby eliminating unjustified costs associated with unnecessary "recovery" operations (such as flushing with hot oil, water, or solvents) and reducing well downtime. A limitation of this method is the risk of parasitic short circuits between the rods and the tubing in deviated wellbore sections; however, this can be mitigated by using sucker rods equipped with polymer scraper-centralizers.

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