A vertical pumping unit for pumping oil from a well is disclosed including a vertically oriented frame, an electrically powered motor, a flexible beam connected on a first end to pumping machinery lowered into an oil well hole, a counterweight connected to a second end of the flexible beam and suspended by the frame, and a drum-type deceleration roller cone. The roller cone includes an input shaft receiving torque from the motor, internal reduction machinery, and an output drum translating the flexible beam back and forth to activate a pumping action.