Small misses in rod lift optimization can add up to big losses in production and equipment life. These are the Top 5 Challenges that operators encounter most often - and how to turn them into gains.
Engineering teams oversee and manage a mix of base and wedge production wells, with wedge production accounting for around 70-80% of total field production, making them the highest priority and most closely monitored. The challenge, however, lies in balancing attention between these critical producers and the marginal wells that still require oversight. Operators often depend on static setpoints—a ‘set it and forget it’ approach—but as well conditions constantly shift, these fixed parameters become outdated. The result is inefficiency: overpumping that drives rod stress and wastes energy, or underpumping that leaves production behind.
The solution - Ambyint’s Autonomous Setpoint Management (ASPM), is designed to prevent manual setpoint drift by continuously monitoring well conditions and dynamically adjusting parameters such as strokes per minute, or idle time. Engineers and operators also receive visibility into all setpoint changes made in order to analyze performance. This closed-loop control ensures each well is consistently operating at its true global maximum efficiency, rather than bouncing around a local maximum based on manual tweaks. The result is increased production, improved energy efficiency, and extended equipment run life, without the need for constant manual adjustments.
Fluid pound is one of the most common causes of premature pump failure, parted rods, and lost production. Ambyint’s Cognitive Card Recognition (CCR) classifies fluid pound events in real time, even in noisy data environments, making it easier for operators to be alerted of the situation. Autonomous Setpoint Management (ASPM) takes it even further by making setpoint change recommendations, and allows engineers to respond quickly, significantly reducing rod and tubing stress.
The solution - Once the fluid pound anomaly is detected in our platform, and a behavioural trend is identified Ambyint can recommend setpoint changes or automatically implement them by lowering strokes per minute (SPM) or increasing idle time, allowing the wellbore to refill with fluid prior to the next stroke and preventing dry strokes that cause unnecessary wear. The result leads to longer pump run life, fewer rod/tubing failures, and higher efficiency, with production maintained rather than lost to repeated failures and shutdowns.
Gas interference occurs when free gas enters the pump barrel alongside liquid, which can cause erratic pump fillage and loss of effective stroke, reducing liquid production while also increasing rod wear. Because the pump is designed to compress and lift liquid, the presence of gas disrupts its ability to efficiently displace fluid.
The solution - Ambyint’s CCR models accurately distinguish gas interference from fluid pound and other anomalies, then it informs ASPM to automatically adjust pumping speed—optimizing fluid entry and minimizing gas slippage across valves. Using the well’s behavioral feedback and production indication as input, the algorithm dynamically tunes operating parameters to maximize performance. Adjustments may include increasing gas compression ratios, extending stroke lengths, and improving dynamometer cards, which together deliver higher pump fillage, measurable oil uplift, and reduced downtime in gas-challenged rod lift wells.
Solids (sand, scale, paraffin) buildup causes reduced pump efficiency, abnormal load patterns that lead to stuck pumps or premature wear. These problems are often reactive – only caught after major downtime.
The solution - Ambyint’s algorithms detect early-warning signals such as rising friction, loss of stroke length, increased fluid load ratios, and provides insight allowing engineers to intervene before a full failure occurs. Trend analysis highlights wells with chronic buildup, helping target scale or paraffin treatments or chemical programs more efficiently, avoiding “blanket treating” across entire fields. Autonomous controls can also adjust pump speeds or idle cycles to reduce rod stress when solids are present, balancing equipment protection with production goals. The result is reduced workover frequency, optimized chemical spend, and improved pump reliability, both contributing to increased Lease Operating Expense (LOE) savings and incremental production.
Many operators rely on manual surveillance and rule-of-thumb practices to manage their well portfolios, adjusting wells based on field experience or infrequent reviews. Without introducing AI or ML tools, optimization can become reactive instead of proactive, and keeps engineers locked in time-consuming data review instead of higher-value work.
The solution - Ambyint helps turning abundant well data into actionable insights/ Without AI/ML tools, optimization stays reactive, and issues like fluid pound, gas interference, and solid buildup are only caught after a failure or loss in production. With engineers stretched thin across hundreds of wells, AI/ML tools shift the burden - cutting LOE, extending run time and enabling teams to focus on what matters most.
Rod lift optimization doesn’t need to be an endless loop of manual adjustments and reactive fixes. When operators can quickly spot and resolve the most common misses, they unlock measurable gains in performance, efficiency, and overall well health.
With tools like Ambyint’s InfinityRL, teams can unlock greater pump efficiency, measurable oil uplift, and extended equipment life - all without constant manual intervention.
Ready to get more out of your wells? Let’s talk - get in touch with us today for more information.