CGE 659

Petroleum Production
Engineering

Tubing Performance Relationship

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Course Outcomes:

Describe the principles, components and methods used to

complete and produce oil and gas wells, production processes,
separation, and surface facilities.
Analyse overall system performance using the appropriate tools
and determine appropriate size and materials for components of
tubings, flowlines and separation facility equipment.
Select and design artificial lift based upon well construction, fluid
properties and production scenario.
Describe appropriate well stimulation technologies and other
advances in oil and gas production processes.

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Last lecture

What is TPR???

A relationship between tubular size, wellhead and bottom-hole

pressure, fluid properties, and fluid production rate.

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Last lecture

How to construct TPR??

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Last lecture

Gradient or pressure traverse

curves

Gradient or Pressure Traverse Curve

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Last lecture
Gradient or pressure traverse curves

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Tubing Performance Relationship
The flow performance of production string depends on:
1. geometries of the production string
2. properties of fluids

Fluids of oil wells include Oil, water, gas, sand

A relationship between tubular size, wellhead pressure, bottom-hole

pressure, fluid properties, and fluid production rate is called as tubing
performance relationship (TPR) or vertical lift performance (VLP)

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Pipe flow and pressure drop in oil well

Oil flow condition: wellhead pressure > bubble-point pressure.

Pressure drop is

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Friction coefficient fF

Flow velocity

Reynolds number ratio of inertial force to viscous force

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Friction coefficient fF
Can be evaluated based on Reynolds number and relative roughness.

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Example:

Suppose that 1,000 bbl/day of 40 0API, 1.2 cp oil is being produced

through 2 7/8-in., 8.6-lbm/ft tubing in a well that is 15 degrees from
vertical. If the tubing wall relative roughness is 0.001, calculate the
pressure drop over 1,000 ft of tubing.

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Multiphase flow in oil wells

Multiphase flow: Oil, water, gas and sand

If the pressure anywhere in a production well is less than the bubble

point pressure, two-phase flow will occur. The behaviour of the flow
will then depend on the phases distribution and direction of flow.

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Multiphase flow in oil wells
Flow regimes

In vertical-upward flow of gas and liquid , four flow regimes may occur as pressure
declines; Bubble flow, Slug flow, Churn flow and Annular flow.

Bubble flow: bubble of gas in a continuous liquid phase.

Slug flow: small bubbles of gas merge together to form larger bubbles of gas
(evaluation of additional gas from the liquid and expansion of existing gas).
These large bubble of gas fill up the entire pipe. Slugs of liquid (with some
small gas bubble) between the larger gas bubbles
Churn flow: large gas bubbles collapse and become and stable as the gas rate
increases. Both phases become dispersed.
Annular flow: gas is continuous phase, liquid flow is next to the pipe wall and
as droplets in the gas phase.At very high flow velocities in the tubing and for
system with higher gas oil ratio, a fifth regime can be added; Mist flow

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Multiphase flow in oil wells
Flow regimes

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VLP Models

There are two types of models, homogenous-flow models and separated-

flow models. Homogeneous models deal with the multiphase as
homogeneous mixture and no liquid hold up. Separated flow models are
more realistic. They are empirical models and most correlations are
presented in graphical forms.

Homogenous-Flow Models: less accurate, can handle three-phase flow (oil,

water and gas) and four phase-flow (oil, gas, water and sand

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VLP Models

Homogenous-flow models

Poettmannand Carpenter Model: Simplified gas-oil-water flow

Guo-GhalamborModel four-phase flow model (gas, oil, water and
sand)

Separated-flow models

Modified Hagedron and Brown Model, Hagedron and Brown

Model, and Griffith model
Hagedron and Brown Model

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VLP Models

Pressure Calculations

VLP models are used to estimate the pressure drop at any point in the
well. The aim is to find out the total pressure drop from the wellbore to
the well-head. However, as the pressure gradient is not constant along the
well, fluids properties changes with pressure and temperature as well as
different flow regimes can occur, the total pressure drop cannot be
calculated in one step. The well is divided into a number of sections. These
sections needs to be small enough so that the pressure gradient and fluid
properties can be considered constant.

Two approaches:
1-Pressure calculations with fixed length intervals
2-Pressure calculations with fixed pressure increments
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VLP Models

Gradient curves

Introduced by Gilbert (Shell)

Plots of pressure variation with depth in a tubing string for specified
flow conditions
Considered parameters: GLR, tubing diameter, oil production rate

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Exercise:

Estimate the bottomhole pressure given the following

data.
Well depth = 6200 ft
Linear Productivity Index = 2.5 bbl/day.psi
Tubing Diameter = 4 in
Gas/oil ratio = 400 Scf/bbl
Average reservoir pressure = 2700 psig
Wellhead Pressure = 160 psig
Use the appropriate gradient curves.

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