OXY USA, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation, provided five oil wells at their Bemis Oil Field in Ellis County, Kansas for an experimental program aimed at increasing efficiency and performance of beam-type oil pumping units. By making electrical and mechanical modifications to these wells, OXY USA was able to reduce the wells' operating costs and identify specific modifications that can improve the efficiency levels of its other wells. The mechanical and electrical modifications reduced annual energy consumption by more than 12 percent, or 54,312 kWh, resulting in $2,227 of annual energy savings. Another $3,135 in annual savings was realized through reduced electricity demand charges, resulting in a total of $5,362 in annual savings from the project. The simple paybacks for each of the five modified wells ranged from 2.6 to 16.1 months, with a total project simple payback of 6.5 months. The total savings in both energy and demand charges amounted to about 77 cents per barrel of oil pumped.