Artificial Lift

Plunger Lift Pump

Pump Assisted Lift
Plunger Lift Pump
Pump Assisted Lift
Pump Assisted Lift
Pump Assisted Lift
Pump Assisted Lift
Plunger Lift
Plunger Lift Pump Components
Pump Assisted Lift
Working of Plunger Pump
When to use Plunger Pump
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Main Requirements of Plunger Lift Pump
1. Minimum Gas Liquid ratio (GLR)
2. Well Pressure build-up
Thumb Rule:
The minimum GLR requirement is approximately 400
scf/bbl per 1,000 ft of well depth and is based on the
energy stored in a compressed volume of 400 scf of
gas expanding under the hydrostatic head of 1 bbl of
liquid.
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Main Requirements of Plunger Lift Pump
1. Minimum Gas Liquid ratio (GLR) Thumb Rule:
The minimum GLR requirement is approximately 400
scf/bbl per 1,000 ft of well depth.
 Does not account for pressure losses
 Gas expansion can be applied from large open
annulus without restriction.
Better to correct it for pressure losses and
restriction can be consider as s 800 to 1,200
scf/bbl per 1,000 ft
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Main Requirements of Plunger Lift Pump
2. Well Pressure buildup Thumb Rule:
Minimum pressure is that a well can lift a slug of liquid
when the slug hydrostatic pressure (phs) equals 50 to
60% of the difference between shut-in casing
pressure (pcs) and maximum sales-line pressure.
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Main Requirements of Plunger Lift Pump
2. Well Pressure buildup Thumb Rule:

This rule of thumb accounts for liquid production, can

be used for wells with higher liquid production that
require slug sizes of more than 1 to 2 bbl/cycle, and is
regarded as a conservative estimate of minimum
pressure requirements.
A well that does not meet minimum GLR and
pressure requirements still could be plunger lifted with
the addition of an external gas source.
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Estimating production rates by Plunger Lift Pump

Effects of plunger lift on a typical gas-well production decline.

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Estimating production rates by Plunger Lift Pump

Inflow-performance-relationship analysis for estimating plunger-lift performance.

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Plunger Lift Pump:
Design Model
Plunger lift models are
based on the sum of forces
acting on the plunger while
it lifts a liquid slug up the
tubing
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Plunger Lift Pump: Design Model
Stored casing pressure freely acting on the cross section of the
plunger.
Stored reservoir pressure acting on the cross section of the
plunger.
 Weight of the fluid.
 Weight of the plunger.
 Friction of the fluid with the tubing.
 Friction of the plunger with the tubing.
 Gas friction in the tubing.
 Gas slippage upward past the plunger.
 Liquid slippage downward past the plunger.
 Surface pressure (line pressure and restrictions) acting
against the plunger travel.
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Plunger Lift Pump: Design Model
The following models developed for the PLP
Foss and Gaul: Force-balance equation (empirical)
Foss and Gaul’s methodology:
 Calculates (pc)min the casing pressure required to
move the plunger and liquid slug just before it
reaches the surface.
 (pc)min at the end of the plunger cycle, the energy
of the expanding gas from the casing to the tubing
is at its minimum.
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Foss and Gaul: (pc)min at the end of the plunger
cycle, the energy of the expanding gas from the
casing to the tubing is at its minimum.
 Adjusting (pc)min for gas expansion from the
casing to the tubing during the full plunger cycle
yields (pc)max, the pressure required to start the
plunger at the beginning of the plunger cycle.
 The pressure must build to (pc)max to operate
successfully.
 The average casing pressure p¯c, maximum
cycles Cmax, and gas required per cycle (Vg) can
be calculated from (pc)min and (pc)max.
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Foss and Gaul:
 Assumes constant friction associated with plunger
rise velocities of 1,000 ft/min
 Does not calculate reservoir inflow
 Assumes a value for gas slippage past the plunger
 Assumes an open, unrestricted annulus
 Assumes that the user can determine unloaded
gas and liquid rates independently of the mode

This model is not rigorous.

It over predicts the pressure requirement which
ensure the working of the well predicted based on it.
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Foss and Gaul:
Required pressure:

D = Depth of plunger, ft.

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2
Aa = cross-sectional area of annulus, ft
2 2
At = cross-sectional area of tubing, ft or in.
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Foss and Gaul:
Gas MSCF required per cycle:

Maximum Cycles:
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2
Aa = cross-sectional area of annulus, ft
2 2
At = cross-sectional area of tubing, ft or in.
Cmax = maximum number of plunger round trips
possible per day
d = tubing diameter, in.
fg = Darcy-Weisbach friction factor for gas flow
through the tubing
Fgs = Foss and Gaul slippage factor of gas lost past
plunger on rise cycle [approximately 2% per
1,000-ft depth ( = 1 + D/1,000 × 0.02); Foss and
Gaul used 1.15 factor on 8,000-ft wells.]
fl = Darcy-Weisbach friction factor for the liquid slug
gg = gas specific gravity
K = gas friction in tubing
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pc = casing pressure, psia
= average casing pressure during operation, psia
(pc)max = the pressure required to start the plunger at the
beginning of the plunger cycle, psia
(pc)min = the casing pressure required to move the plunger and
liquid slug just before it reaches the surface, psia
pcs = casing pressure at shut-in, psia
phs = slug differential hydrostatic pressure, psi
pl = line pressure, psia
plf = differential pressure required to overcome liquid
friction per barrel, psi/bbl
plh = differential pressure required to lift liquid weight per
barrel, psi/bbl
pp = differential pressure required to lift plunger weight, psi
pR = reservoir pressure, psia
pt = tubing pressure, psia
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qg = gas flow rate, Mscf/D

ql = liquid flow rate, B/D
R = specific gas constant (air), 53.3 lbf-ft/(°R-lbm)
Ra = ratio of annulus + tubing cross-sectional area to the annulus
cross-sectional area
v = velocity, ft/sec
= average velocity of plunger falling through gas, ft/min
(typically 200 to 1,200 ft/min)
= average velocity of plunger falling through liquid, ft/min
(typically 50 to 250 ft/min)
= average rise velocity of plunger, ft/min (typically 400 to 1,200
ft/min)
Vg = volume of gas required per cycle, Mscf
Vt = volume of the tubing above the liquid load, Mscf
Z = gas factor
γl = liquid gradient, psi/ft
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Example:
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Solution: Thumb Rule minimum GLR
The minimum GLR (Rgl) = 400 scf/bbl per 1,000 ft of well depth.
The well’s GLR is:

where qg is given in scf. The well GLR is >400 scf/bbl per

1,000 ft and is adequate for plunger lift.
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Casing pressure requirement Thumb Rule
The minimum shut-in casing pressure for plunger lift, in psia:

With 800 psia of available casing pressure, the well meets the
pressure requirements for plunger lift. This is the absolute
minimum pressure required for low liquid volumes, intermediate
well depths, and low line pressures.
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Casing pressure requirement
Assuming 10 cycles/day, equivalent to a plunger trip every 2.4
hours.
(Any reasonable number of cycles can be assumed to calculate
pressure)
At 10 cycles/day and 10 bbl of liquid, the plunger will lift 1 bbl/cycle.
The slug hydrostatic pressure (phs) of 1 bbl of liquid in 2 3/8-in.
tubing with a 0.45-psi/ft liquid gradient is approximately 120 psia.
The required casing pressure (psia):

With 800 psia of available casing pressure, the well meets the
pressure requirements for plunger lift.
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Method to determine plunger lift operating range
Plunger-lift operating range by Foss and Gaul:
K and plh + plf values for 2 3/8-in. tubing for average rise
velocities of 1,000 ft/min.

Calculate the constants At, pp, Aa, Ra, Fgs, L, and Vt:
Area of tubing, ft2:
Differential pressure required to lift
plunger, psi:
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Area of annulus, ft2
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Foss and Gaul slippage factor [Foss and Gaul used a 15% factor
(1.15) that could be translated to approximately 2% per 1,000 ft]:

Length of 1 bbl of fluid in the tubing, ft/bbl (5.615 = scf in 1 bbl):

Volume of tubing above the slug (MSCF):

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Assume some values for S (bbl) and construct Table

The casing pressure (pc)max of 810 psia, the GLR of 20 Mscf/bbl,

and the production rate of 10 B/D occur at slug sizes between
0.1 and 2.5 bbl. The well will operate on plunger lift.