Artificial Lift Overview+ GasLift 1
Artificial Lift Overview+ GasLift 1
Artificial Lift Overview+ GasLift 1
Chapter # 4
Artificial Lift
Fall 2021
Artificial Lift Overview
Psurf
The well:
Ph Flows if Pwf > Ph + Psurf
Pwf Pr
Objectives
3
Production System
Outflow
Static pres. = P
Pressure
at Inflow
formation
Pwf
Distance from well
Basic Principle
• Required when reservoir pressure is not (longer) sufficient to lift fluids to surface due
e.g.
•water production
•reservoir depletion
5
Artificial Lift Decreases BHP and Increases Rate
Tubing curve #1
PR
Bottomhole pressure
BHP2
Flow rate
6
Common Types of Artificial Lift
• Sucker rod pumping (or beam pumping)
• Gas lift
ESP
Jet Pump
Mechanical Lift (Pump)
Artificial Lift Sucker Rod
Gas Lift
PCP
Choice of Artificial Lift
Several factors
Production conditions
Reservoir data
Fluid properties
Economics: capital and operating expenditure
------------------------------------------------------------
• Produced solids
BHP
• Sand, paraffin, fines
0
0
q 10
Choice of Artificial Lift BPD
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000
0
2000
Plunger
4000
6000
Depth, ft
8000
Gaslift
10000
12000 Beam
14000
ESP
16000
18000
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Choice of Artificial Lift
BPD
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000
0
2000
6000
Depth, ft
8000
10000 PCP
12000
14000
16000
Hyd.
18000 Recip.
Choice of Artificial Lift
Rod
Hydraulic
104
Submersible
Barrels of Water Per Day
Submersible
103
Hydraulic Pump
102
Rod Pump
10
10 102 103 104
Barrels of Oil Per Day
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Choice of Artificial Lift
Total
Other
ESP 7%
10%
Gas Lift
19%
Rod Pump
64%
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Choice of Artificial Lift Natural flow (NF)
Beam pumping (BP)
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19
Gas Lift
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Flowing Gradient
Δptrav is a function of the flow rate, the GLR, the depth, and the
properties and composition of the fluid.
Cont.
The previous equation can be written in terms of the flowing pressure gradient in
the well. Thus: dp
ptf H pwf
dz
Suppose the well producing with oil rate of 400 STB/d and water rate of 400
STB/d is in a reservoir where H=8000 ft and GLR=300 SCF/STB. If the
indicated bottomhole pressure is 1500 psi, what should be the working GLR,
and how much gas should be injected at the bottom of the well? Would it be
possible to inject (instead) at 4000 ft and still produce the same liquid rates?
What would be the GLR above this alternative injection point?
Solution
The basic objective of gas-lift design is to “equip our wells in such manner as to compress a
Oil production by gas lift can be controlled by changing gas volumes, injection depth, wellhead
In conventional gas-lift arrangements, gas is compressed into the casing at the surface and
flows from the annulus into the tubing through a single gas injection valve close to the bottom
of the well.
The conventional injection valve is merely an orifice to restrict and control the passage of gas
0.01875 H inj ZT
pinj psurf e
Example
If gas of γ=0.7 is injected at 8000 ft and if psurf=900 psi, Tsurf=80ºF
and Tinj=160ºF, calculate the pressure at the injection point, pinj.
Example Solution
Trial and error is required for this calculation. Assume that pinj=1100
psi. From gas gravity we can find that ppc=668 psi and Tpc=390ºR,
and therefore:
900 1100 / 2
1.5
p pr
668
Z 0.86
T pr
80 160 / 2 460
1.49
390
production rate.
Pressure Profile of Gas Lift Operation
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Some Aspects
Wellbore flowing pressure is determined by the pressure traverse in the tubing above and
below the injection point.
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Some Aspects
Two parameters, the injection depth and the flowing pressure gradient above the injection
The ability to control the bottom-hole flowing pressure and production rate in a gas-lift well
thus amounts to the ability to control the depth of injection and the flowing pressure gradient.
The injection point may be selected at any depth up to a maximum determined , primarily, by
For a given surface injection pressure, there is a depth where the casing pressure equals flowing
tubing pressure. *** This point is referred to as the pressure balance point.
Some Aspects
Injection valve is located a short distance above the balance point, so that the pressure drop
across the valve plus the casing pressure are equal to the tubing pressure at that depth.
The size of the orifice in the injection valve is selected to give a 50 to 100 psi pressure drop.
Surface-injection pressure depends on the gas compressor rating. It is usually in the range of
700-1100 psia. Unless the gas rate is very high, or the casing/tubing annulus is small, gas
density governs the pressure gradient in the annulus.
The flowing gradient in the tubing, is controlled by the gas injection rate. Increasing injection
rate increases the gas-liquid ratio in the tubing, and up to a certain limit, decreases the
flowing gradient. Beyond this limit, the flowing pressure gradient is increased by larger gas-
liquid ratios.
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Some Aspects
The pressure traverse can be calculated using conventional pipe flow calculations where the
annular cross section area is translated to an apparent (effective) radial pipe cross section.
For quick design calculations, the friction component is usually ignored and the gas pressure
gradient in the casing is approximated by the weight of a static gas column. For further
simplification the gradient is assumed constant, giving a linear pressure traverse. The surface
and down-hole pressures can be related by a simple equation,
Pdownhole= Psurface(1+H/40,000)
Where
p = casing/tubing annulus pressure (psia).
H = the distance from the surface to the gas-lift valve (ft).
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Point of Injected Gas
H inj
p inj p surf 1
40000
where the pressures are in psi and Hinj is in feet.
Cont.
However, this is equation is only useful for first design
approximation. More accurate designs need computer programs
that consider the actual annulus geometry and accounts for both
friction and hydrostatic pressure components.
The point of gas injection, Hinj, would create two zones in the
well: one below, with a flowing pressure gradient (dp/dz)b, and one
above, with a flowing pressure gradient (dp/dz)a. Thus:
dp dp
pwf ptf H inj H H inj
dz a dz b
Cont.
Example
(The average reservoir pressure is 3050 psi for ql=800 STB/d, as can
be calculated from IPR)
Example
Δpvalve=100 psi.
Solution
1. The surface gas injection pressure will be (note that the down-
hole gas injection pressure is equal to wellbore flowing pressure, pwf
plus pressure drop across the injection valve, Δpvalve):
H inj 8000
p surf p inj 1 (1000 100) 1 915 psi
40000 40000
Solution
2. For ql=500 STB/d, IPR gives the flowing wellbore pressure as:
ql 500
pwf p 3050 1770 psi
0.39 0.39
The injection point must be where the pressure between the injected
gas and the pressure in production string must be balanced. Thus:
H inj dp
p surf 1 pvalve pwf (8000 H inj )
40000 dz
Solution
H inj
915 1 100 1770 0.33 8000 H inj
40000
H inj 5490 ft
Inside the tubing the pressure is 940 psi, since Δpvalve=100 psi.
Solution
Using the given gradient curve, it is easy to find that the intersect
between p=940 psi and Hinj=5490 is at GLR=340 SCF/STB.
Therefore the gas injection would be:
q g q l GLR 2 GLR1 500 340 300 2 104 SCF/d
Some Aspects
If the injection point is unspecified, the casing pressure traverse may be extended until it
intersects the pressure gradient in the tubing below the injection point, thereby
establishing the pressure balance point.
The flowing gradient below the injection point can be calculated from multiphase flow
correlations or estimated from gradient curves. if available, for flow of the given reservoir
fluid at the particular rate assumed in the diagram.
Similarly, the flowing gradient above the injection point can be calculated from correlations
or estimated from a gradient curve using the gas-liquid ratio in a mixture of reservoir fluid
plus the injection gas.
Example I
Estimating Wellbore Flowing Pressure and Continuous Production Rate with a Given Injection Depth
A gas-lift study is performed for the wells of a sandstone formation in the Campus Basin. An appraisal
well is representative of the wells in the field for gas-lift design purposes. The relevant well data are
given in the table. Estimate the continuous production rate from a single well when injecting gas at
900psia surface pressure and the injection valve is just above the perforations. Calculate the
injection depth required to produce the well at a rate of 200 STB/D. The estimated pressure drop in
the gas-injection valve, Δpv is 100 psi. For design purposes, gas pressure in the annulus is
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Example I
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Solution I
The tasks in this example are concerned with pressure conditions in the annulus and in the
tubing below the gas injection point. When injecting at 8000ft. the flowing bottom-hole pressure
equals approximately the flowing pressure in the tubing at the injection point. It is, therefore.
To produce the well at a rate of 200 STB/D the required bottom-hole pressure, calculated from
Expressing the tubing pressure at the injection point in terms of Pwf and tubing flowing
gradient, and the annulus pressure in terms of annulus gas pressure gives, ( assume Gbv= 0.39
psi/ft)
Knowing the reservoir GOR and the required tubing GOR allows calculation of the
gas needed for injection.
59
Matching of Pressure Conditions above the Injection Point to a Gradient Curve
Figure illustrates a quick manual procedure for matching pressure conditions in the tubing above
the injection point to a gradient curve. The matched gradient curve determines the required gas-oil
ratio in the tubing.
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Power Requirement for Gas Compressors
Solution
1330
0.2
HHP 2.23 10 1.2 10
4 5
1 18.4 hhp
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Example II
Gas Injection Rate to Maintain a Particular Production Rate
Complete the pressure diagram for the well explained in last example and determine the amount of
injected gas needed to produce the well at a rate of 200 STB/D. Estimate the per-well power
requirement for compression with a compressor suction pressure of 65 psia. A quick estimation of
compression power requirements can be obtained from the relation
_
P = 2.23 x 10 4*qg* [(P2/P1)0.2–1]
Where
P = power (HP).
qg= gas rate (scf/D)
P1= compressor inlet pressure (psia),
P2=: compressor outlet pressure (psia)
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Solution
The gradient curve and the corresponding gas-liquid ratio can be identified by matching a gradient curve to
the two known pressure points in the tubing:
1. wellhead h=0, p=200psia
2. injection point h= 6449 ft, p = 1045 psia
The gradient curve of GLR= 1000 scf/STB matches the two points. The injection gas-liquid ratio is then
calculated as the difference between the obtained flowing GLR and the formation GLR. that is,
1000 -600 = 400 scf/STB.
Where should be the injection point be after the reservoir pressure drops by
500 psi? What should be the gas injection rate to sustain a liquid
production rate equal to 500 STB/d? The needed gradient curve is given.
(Δpvalve=100 psi, psurf = 915 psi, (dp/dz)b= 0.33 as the previous example)
Solution
Using gradient curve, at Hinj = 7120 ft and pinj = 980 psi, The GLR
must be equal to 750 SCF/STB. So the gas injection rate will be:
q g 500 750 300 2.25 105 SCF/d
The injection rate is more that 10 times the gas injection calculated
in previous example for this reservoir. The injection point is also
1630 ft lower.
Control of Production Rate during Reservoir Depletion
72
Some Aspects
The basic assumption applied in last two figures is that a higher gas-liquid ratio in the tubing results
in a smaller pressure gradient. This assumption is correct only up to a limiting GLR.
From the set of gradient curves, it can be seen that the pressure gradient decreases with increasing
GLR, to a certain limit. Increasing GLR above this limit causes an increase in gradient. The minimum
gradient curve signifies minimum flowing bottom hole pressure and maximum production rate.
Increasing gas-injection rate , therefore, may increase the production rate to a maximum level
beyond which increasing gas rate results in decreasing production rate.
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Some Aspects
76
Some Aspects
Gas lift is one of the artificial lift options considered for the oil field . Data for a typical well in the field are
listed in table below. Two cases of gas-lift production are investigated:
Case 1: An unlimited amount of injection gas is available to produce the well at or near its maximum
production rate.
Case 2: A limited amount of injection gas, 180 Mscf/D, is allocated to each well.
Investigate the performance of a well producing under each case.
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Solution
Case 1
The gas-liquid ratios that yield minimum pressure loss in 2 7/8 in. tubing (favorable GLR) are listed
in table E5.9b and plotted versus rate in figure E5.9. With 65-psia wellhead pressure the minimum
tubing intake pressure at 5000 ft is determined from the favorable gradient curve and listed also in
table E5.9b. Plotting Pin from table E5.9b versus q in figure E5.9 gives the locus of minimum intake
pressures.
The straight-line IPR of the well is also plotted in figure E5.9. The intersection of IPR with the locus of
(Pin)min gives maximum flow rate from this well by means of gas lift.
Reading from the graph, maximum rate is qmax = 260 STB/D. The favorable GLR corresponding to this
maximum rate is indicated on figure E5.9 as GLR = 3750 scf/STB.
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Solution
80
Solution
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Solution
Case 2
The GLRs obtained by injecting 180 Mscf/D in addition to 400 scf/STB of reservoir oil are calculated
and listed in table E5.9c. Given 65 psia wellhead pressure, the tubing intake pressure with a flowing
GLR is obtained from the gradient curves and listed versus rate in table E5.9c.
The Pin values are plotted versus q and form the intake pressure curve in figure E5.9. The intersection
of this curve with IPR defines the flowing conditions for 180 Mscf/D gas injection.
The intersection is at a rate of 230 STB/D. An interesting observation is that the calculated gas
injection rate in case 1 is 3.5 times higher than in case 2. whereas the production rate is only 10%
higher.
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