GAS LIFT

Fig: Typical Gas lift system This method utilizes energy contained in compressed gas to lift well fluids. The lifting of fluid using gas is achieved by one or a combination of the following three processes: Work of expansion of the compressed gas, Aeration (lightening) of the fluid column,

 Displacement of the oil by the compressed gas. Gas lft is the most commonly used form of artificial lilt today. Its usage is especially, very common in offshore because of space limitations and subsurface safety valve requirements. A typical gas-lift system is shown in Fig. The high pressure gas enters from one conduit (normally annulus) to other conduit (normally tubing) through gas lilt valve. The gas entering the string aerates the liquid and causes the well to flow, which is referred as continuous flow. When the gas enters beneath a slug of accumulated liquid and propels this slug to the surface in a piston form, it is referred as intermittent flow. The purpose of intermittent lift and continuous flow are identical to create the necessary flowing bottom-hole pressure to allow the well to produce a desired rate. One important difference, however, is that in intermittent lift a liquid slug must build up, and then gas is injected underneath the slug. The gas propels the slug to surface similar to the firing of a gun. The gas lift valves are set to open at desired conditions when lowered into the well. One key to obtaining good valve operation is to ensure that the valves are spaced properly and set correctly (without much drift in pressure). Simple injection pressure operated valves are normally used to unload the well to the point of injection. A carefully selected orifice for the operated valves is (injection point) is most important for efficient gas lift operation. The gas injection pressure is often selected on the basis of gas sales pressure rather than on a pressure that will produce the well, most efficiently. The gas injection pressure needs to be one that lifts maximum barrels of fluid when injecting nearoptimum gas volumes. High wellhead back pressure is a serious problem in many high rate wells, especially those on gas lift. Production can be increased and lift horsepower decreased by reducing back pressure on the well. Long or small diameter flowlines, separator pressure or chokes result in restricting production due to increased back pressure. These problems need to be identified and corrected.

Because compressed gas is costly, designing the system to produce at the absolute maximum rate with a minimum gradient is rare. This is seldom the most profitable approach. The optimum injection volume is significantly less than the volume needed to achieve a minimum gradient in the tubing. One rule of thumb is that the total injection gas volume should not exceed half the rate required to achieve the minimum gradient. Another general approach is to design for an operating condition that has a producing pressure 50 to 100 psi above the minimum pressure at the point of injection. An in-depth design study requires the analysis of capital cost, operating cost and income over the life of the project. For a limited system that is already installed the available injection gas should normally be distributed so that the maximum possible oil production is obtained. Some wells may need to be restricted and others may need to be produced even though the gas could, for the short term, be better used elsewhere. The total injected gas per volume of produced oil is used as a guide for the best injection-gas allocation scheme. Each well will have a unique curve of oil produced per hundred cubic meters of injection gas. When the incremental rate of oil production per 100 m3 of injection gas is equal for all wells then the highest income should result. Often in high volume lift, this results in allocating more gas to the better oil wells and the less gas to high water-cut wells.

Gas lift Fundamentals Pressure at Bottom of Gas Column:

Energy Utilized In Lifting Fluids The following energies are utilised in lifting fluids from an oil well : Reservoir energy, which is equivalent to the working submergence. Energy of the gas in the well fluids. Supplementary energy contained in the compressed gas introduced at the surface Volume of Gas Necessary for Gas Lift Assuming 100% efficiency,

Work of Expansion: Three possible cases may occur When gas oil ratio is low and heat necessary to maintain isothermal condition is supplied by the oil (isothermal expansion):

When gas velocity is very high so that little or no heat is transferred to the gas from the oil (adiabatic expansion) :

When there is usually isothermal expansion at the lower end of tubing and practically adiabatic expansion at the upper end. This type of expansion, called polytropic expansion, is most applicable to gas lift. The work of expansion is given by : , where n=1.20 in most cases Gas Lift Efficiencies The gas lift efficiencies are low, in the range 30% to 40%. Energy losses occur in following ways: Leakage: in tubing and valves Entrance and discharge losses Slippage losses Back pressure at the discharge Kick-Off Pressure (Without Valves) Two important pressures in a gas-lift operation are:

kick-off pressure (Pko) operating pressure (Po)

Kick-off pressure is the pressure (measured at the input gas line at the surface) necessary to start the flow in a gas-lift well. It is the pressure required to kick-off the well and begin movement through the flowline, when gas pressure alone is used (no rocking). A schematic of pressure-time relationship for a typical gas lift well is presented in Fig. Kick off pressure for single valve single point injection is given as:

Operating gas injection pressure is very important parameter of gas lift system. It influences the gas requirement and production rate from the well. Higher injection pressure allows injecting gas at the bottom of tubing for higher productivity wells. However, in case of low P.I. wells, high injection pressure may result in excessive undesirable pressure drop across the valve without doing any lifting work, damage the gas lift valve and create cooling effect. Therefore for a field having low to high PI wells, a careful selection of gas injection pressure is necessary. The effect of changing gas injection pressure is shown in figure. Higher pressure results in lower injection gas requirement and deeper injection point.

Gas Volumes Necessary for Lift Gas volumes necessary in gas lift operations are commonly around 150 to 250 scf/bbl per thousand feet of lift in continuous flow and for intermittent lift it is about 200 to 400 scf/bbl per thousand feet of lift. The volume of injection gas necessary to maintain flow is a function of: Amount of formation gas produced with oil, Amount of fluid. to be lifted, Physical properties of fluids, Wellhead back pressure, Length and diameter of the tubing.

Presently good computer software are used to find the gas requirement. Design Tubing Head Pressure Design tubing head pressure is normally higher than operating tubing head pressure. For pressure operated gas lift valves, tubing pressure influences opening and closing of valves. Higher deaign tubing pressure allows the bottom valve to remain at operating valve so long it i.e. higher than actual tubing head operating pressure. A general rule of thumb for selection of design tubing head pressure is given as under:

Merits of Continuous Flow Gas Lift Gas lift is the best artificial lift method for handling sand or solid materials. Many wells make some sand even if sand control is installed. The produced sand causes almost no mechanical problem to the gas lift valve; whereas, only a little sand gives major problem with most of the pumping methods. Deviated or crooked holes can be gas lifted with only minor lift problems. This is especially important for offshore platform wells which are directionally drilled. Gas lift permits the use of wireline equipment and such equipment is easily and economically serviced. This feature allows for routine repairs through the tubing. The normal design leaves the tubing full opening. This permits bottom hole pressure, temperature recording, bailing, production logging, paraffin cutting, etc. High formation GORs are helpful rather than being a hindrance in gas lift; less injection gas is required, whereas, in all pumping methods, pumped gas reduces efficiency drastically.

 Gas lift is flexible. A wide range of volumes and lift depths can be achieved with essentially the same well equipment. In some cases, switching to annular flow can also be easily accomplished to handle exceedingly high volumes. A central gas lift system can be easily used to service many wells or operate 'an entire field. Centralization usually lowers total capital cost and pennies easier well control and testing. Gas lift has a low profile i,e, little addition to well head equipment. The surface well equipment is the same as for flowing wells except for injection gas metering and transportation to wellhead. The low profile is usually an advantage in urban environments. Well subsurface equipment is relatively inexpensive. The repair and maintenance cost of this subsurface equipment is normally low. The equipment is easily pulled out and repaired or replaced. Also major well workovers occur less frequently. Installation of gas lift is compatible with subsurface safety valve and other surface equipment. Gas lift will tolerate some bad design assumptions and still work. This is fortunate since the spacing design must usually be made before the well is completed and tested. Limitations of Gas Lift Relatively high back pressure may seriously restrict production in continuous -gas lift. This problem becomes more significant with increasing depth and declining static bottom hole pressure. Thus a 10,000 ft well with a static BHP of 1000 psi and a PI of 1.0 would be difficult to lift with the standard continuous flow gas lift system. However, there are some special schemes that could be tried for such wells. Gas lift is relatively inefficient, often resulting in large capital investments and high energy/operating costs. The cost of compressors is relatively high and is often long lead delivery items. Costs in 1981 were found to be $550 to

$600 per horsepower for typical land locations and $1000 to $1400 per horsepower for, offshore packages. The compressor presents space and weight design problems when used on offshore platform. Also, the cost of the distribution systems may be significant. Increased gas usage also may increase the size of flow line and separators needed. Adequate gas supply is needed throughout life of project. If the field runs out of gas or if gas becomes too expensive, one may have to switch over to another lift method. In addition, there must be enough gas for easy start-ups. Operation and maintenance of compressors can be expensive. Skilled operators and good compressor mechanics are required for successful and reliable operation. There is increased difficulty when lifting low gravity, less than 15 API crude due to more friction. The cooling effect of gas expansion further aggravates this problem. Also the cooling effect will compound the paraffin problem. Low fluid volumes in conjunction with high water cuts (less than 200 BPD in 27/8 OD tubing) become less efficient to lift. Good data is required for a good design. Such data may not be available and thus, it may result in an inefficient design that may not produce the well near to its capacity. There are some other potential problems also that must be resolved, if present. Gas freezing and hydrate problems Corrosive injection gas Severe paraffin problems Fluctuating auction and discharge pressures of compressors Wireline problems especially in deviated well and carbonate reservoirs. Dual artificial lift frequently results in poor lift efficiency. Changing well conditions, especially decline in BHP and PI.

 Deep high volume lift. Valve interference - multipoint injection due to improper valve sizing. Depth of valves Tubing pressure of valve Design production rate for each valve Valve specifications (port size) Temperature at valve Valve setting pressures (dome pressure at valve depth) Test rack opening pressure of valve

GAS LIFT DESIGN: Design of Continuous Gas Lift The continuous gas lift design methodology includes the following: Graphical design Analytical design Transfer point procedure Minimum gradient method Computer design method Design simulation Here the emphasis is given on graphical /analytical design procedures. The design of continuous gas lift may include determination of:

The point of gas injection Gas volume requirement Injection pressure at valve Depth of valves Tubing pressure of valve Design production rate for each valve Valve specifications (port size) Temperature at valve Valve setting pressures (dome pressure at valve depth) Test rack opening pressure of valve

The first and the foremost step is data acquisition. Data Acquisition: Specific gravity of oil and gas, Static bottom hole temperature, Geothermal gradient, GOR, Static bottom hole pressure, Flowing bottom hole pressure, Productivity index, Water cut, GLR, Production rate, Perforation interval, Kill fluid gradient- from sub surface team Depth, Casing and Tubing size from Well testing and completion team. WELLFLO DESIGN:

Gas Lift Design Calculations Company ONGC Date Field Well Lease Valv Depth e # TVD 1 2 3 4 5 Tv CT R DPc Ppd PpdR Psc Jhalora Ordered By JH -130 District Rig Name Depth MD Tv CT Port R Size DP Ppd Ppd Psc Pvc Pvo Pio Pvcd at Pvo R Tsc c d d 16 1 20 1 23 2 26 2 30 3 33 34 35 35 31 32 33 35 33 29 31 32 34 32 28 29 31 33 30 26 29 32 32 29 26 31 29 28 26 26 15-07-2011

303.173 303.173 42 0.910 6.350 0.067 1 7 7 1 0 0 553.303 553.303 52 0.881 6.350 0.067 1 5 5 0 0 0 754.577 754.577 60 0.859 6.350 0.067 2 3 3 1 0 0 954.577 954.577 68 0.838 6.350 0.067 2 3 3 6 0 0 1154.57 1154.57 75 0.818 4.762 0.094 3 73 73 8 5 0 Temperature of valve Temperature correction factor AP/AB

Injection pressure difference from surface to valve depth. Flowing production pressure at valve depth. Ppd * R Surface closing pressure of valve.

Pvcd Pvod Pio

Valve closing pressure at depth. Valve opening pressure at depth. Surface operating gas injection pressure to open valve.

Pvcd at Tsc Dome pressure at test rack temperature. Pvo Tsc

Test rack opening pressure Temperature at test rack conditions.

 Operating Liquid Pressure Rate Oil Rate Water Rate Formation Gas Rate Injection Gas Rate Water Cut

GLRi 50 110 170 230 290 350 410 470 530 590

Produc GOR

(kg/cm^2) (m^3/d) (m^3/d) (m^3/d) (Sm^3/d) 33.29 63.51 43.82 19.69 5634.8 29 64.92 44.79 20.12 5916.54 27.3 65.46 45.17 20.29 5916.54 26.62 65.65 45.3 20.35 5916.54 26.45 65.7 45.33 20.37 5916.54 26.57 65.67 45.31 20.36 5916.54 26.86 65.58 45.25 20.33 5916.54 27.28 65.46 45.17 20.29 5916.54 27.78 65.31 45.06 20.25 5916.54 28.33 65.13 44.94 20.19 5916.54

(Sm^3/d) (Fraction) (m^3/m 3099.14 0.31 201 7043.5 0.31 288 10987.86 0.31 375 15213.95 0.31 462 19158.31 0.31 549 23102.67 0.31 636 26765.29 0.31 72 30709.65 0.31 810 34654.01 0.31 897 38316.63 0.31 984

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