SUNYA / PROPOSED EVALUATION / 10 OCTOBER 2026

Burk Royalty: Pump by exception

For an operator. A proposal based on a public-source case, not a company plan or a return forecast.

What the peer actually reports

Which assets?
One West Texas lease. Full paper: five producers and one injector; abstract: six producers and one injector.
Who acts?
Integrated sensing, analytics and pump control shift work toward exceptions. People remain part of the operating process.
What is reported?
Electricity expense fell from $660 to $376 per well per month; field time fell from 126 to 18 hours per month.
Measurement period
Eight-month case; published in 2026.
Comparison baseline
Before/after account of an integrated operating change. It does not isolate the AI component.
Who reports it?
Operator/vendor-coauthored paper
Full costs
Full implementation and ongoing costs are not disclosed in the selected sources.
What remains unresolved?
The sources conflict on well count. The paper’s profit and payback estimates do not establish full-cost net return.

What to establish before a trial

Reconcile the asset list, meter energy, record field time and capture installation, service and maintenance costs.

Suggested owner: Field operations and production engineering (proposed role, not a confirmed contact).

Measure: Electricity and field labor per producing well-month, alongside production and equipment condition.

Stop or redesign: Stop if fewer visits hide equipment problems, production deteriorates or savings disappear after service and support costs.

Fix the baseline and measurement period before changing the work. Define approval, override and fallback responsibilities. Include integration, human review, ongoing service and support costs. Check whether the benefit lasts after the pilot.

Original sources and locations

  1. Field Optimization Reimagined: full paper · 2026
    Operator/vendor-coauthored technical paper. Location: PDF pp. 3, 7–9; figure on p. 8
    Register review: Relevant original source text reviewed; performance remains author-reported, not independently validated.; accessed 2026-10-10. Disclosure is not independent outcome validation.
  2. Pump-by-exception monitoring and control at a West Texas lease · 2026
    Operator/vendor-coauthored technical paper. Location: SWPSC 2026052 abstract; linked full paper PDF pp. 3, 7–9 (site configuration, eight-month results, economics and projections)
    Register review: Relevant original source text reviewed; performance remains author-reported, not independently validated.; accessed 2026-10-10. Disclosure is not independent outcome validation.

Open this comparison on Sunya

An editorial comparison of twelve selected profiles already in the Sunya register. Categories describe the action authority established by the selected sources, not safety certification or a maturity score. Evaluation ideas are Sunya proposals, not company plans, buying intent or measured returns.