New technology aims to reduce oil pumping costs

The collapse of the auto industry devastated many cities and businesses, but may have had one benefit for the West Texas oil industry.

The Turbo Trac Infinitely Variable Transmission, which originally was intended for automobile engines, is in the testing stages and can be applied to pump jacks with electric or combustion engines.

Duane Hampton, the vice president of marketing for the company, said elevator repairman Richard Raney came up with the concept and originally wanted to install it in a truck.

Hampton said it was in 2007 when the board of the company decided to look at industrial applications.

Allen Swenson, CEO of Turbo Trac, said he took over the company in late 2005 and was instrumental in shifting the focus of the product.

“I saw the beginnings that the automotive industry was having challenges,” he said. “That started my thinking about what this particular product could also be used for.”

It worked out well the eventual destination was the oil field, Swenson said, since most of the early financial backers of the invention were in the oil and gas industry and since it was created in the Permian Basin.

The infinitely variable transmission is different from the transmissions currently used in pumpjacks because it can automatically change speeds, something necessary to avoid damaging equipment and increase efficiency, he said.

Now the challenge is convincing oil and gas companies that the IVT is something they need to save money by maximizing productivity, Swenson said, which is where the trial runs come in.

Hampton said the company is loaning several units to interested and qualified oil companies for testing.

“In order to establish a foothold in the marketplace, we’re looking for companies that have a pumpjack or compressor that’s not operating at full efficiency,” he said. “We’re looking for customers who know they’re not efficient.”

Hampton said Turbo Trac must ensure the transmission will work on the machine first, but then the company will loan the transmission for two-to-three months to test its application and get potential customers excited about it.

Swenson said he is already comfortable with the performance of the product but is hoping to find out how it works practically in the West Texas elements.

“We want to know if it is packaged properly to meet all the vagaries of an oil patch,” he said.

The heat and dust are two elements that the company has to consider when implementing the product, Swenson said, as they are working to achieve premium efficiency when no one else is around.

Swenson said they hope to begin production at the end of the year and already have several potential buyers of the transmissions.

Hampton said the biggest benefit of the transmission is productivity and energy savings. Machines that previously operated at 50 percent load and speed efficiency could run at 80 percent to 100 percent.

The pumps would not only save that energy, but also be able to increase productivity because the speed varies.

@OAcourts