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C H A P T E R

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GAS LIFT

11.1 INTRODUCTION
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Gas lift is an articial lift method whereby external gas is injected into the produced ow stream at some depth in the wellbore. The additional gas augments the formation gas and reduces the owing bottomhole pressure, thereby increasing the inow of produced uids. For dewatering gas wells, the volume of injected gas is designed so that the combined formation and injected gas will be above the critical rate for the wellbore [1], especially for lower liquid producing gas wells. For higher liquid rates, much of the design procedure may more closely mirror producing oil well gas lift techniques. Although gas lift may not lower the owing pressure as much as an optimized pumping system, there are several advantages of a gas lift system that often make gas lift the articial lift method of choice. For gas wells in particular, when producing a low amount of liquids, the producing bottomhole pressure with gas lift may compare well with other methods of dewatering. For higher liquid rates, the achievable producing BHP may be higher than pumping techniques. Of all articial lift methods, gas lift most closely resembles natural ow and has long been recognized as one of the most versatile articial lift methods. Because of its versatility, gas lift is a good candidate for removing liquids from gas wells under certain conditions. Figure 11-1 shows the approximate depth-pressure ranges for application of gas lift, developed primarily for oil wells. The most important advantages of gas lift over pumping lift methods are:

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Gas Well Deliquication

40,000 30,000 Gas Lift B/D 20,000 10,000 0

4,000

8,000 Depth, ft

12,000

16,000

Figure 11-1: An Approximate Depth-Rate Feasibility Chart for Conventional Continuous Gas Lift
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Most pumping systems become inefcient when the GLR exceeds some critical value, typically about 500 scf/bbl (90 m3/m3), due to severe gas interference. Although remedial measures are possible for conventional lift systems, gas lift systems can be applied directly to high GLR wells because the high formation GLR reduces the need for additional gas to lower the formation owing pressure. Production of solids will reduce the life of any device that is placed within the produced uid ow stream, such as a rod pump or ESP. Gas lift systems generally are not susceptible to erosion due to sand production and can handle a higher solids production than conventional pumping systems. For some applications, a higher pressure gas zone may be used to auto-gas-lift another zone. In highly deviated wells it is difcult to deploy some pumping systems due to the potential for mechanical damage to deploying electric cables or rod and tubing wear for beam pumps. Gas lift systems can be employed in deviated wells without mechanical problems. New techniques (discussed in this chapter) allowing gas lift gas to help lift long pay intervals below the usual packer in a gas lift installation. Gas lift has features to address these production situations. Another advantage that gas lift has over other types of articial lift is its adaptability to changes in reservoir conditions. It is a relatively

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Gas Lift

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simple matter to alter a gas lift design to account for reservoir decline or an increase in uid (water) production that generally occurs in the latter stages of the life of the eld. Changes to the gas lift installation can be made from the surface without pulling tubing by replacing the gas lift valves via wireline and reusing the original downhole components. However, many onshore lower volume gas well gas lift installations may choose to use conventional mandrels where the tubing must be pulled to access gas lift valves and to replace valves. The two fundamental types of gas lift used in the industry today are continuous ow and intermittent ow. This is the conventional breakdown. However, one could say there are gas lifted gas wells and there are gas lifted oil wells. Gas wells can also be lifted by continuous or intermittent gas lift so the conventional discussion will be presented, although many gas wells are being lifted by continuous ow.
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11.2 CONTINUOUS GAS LIFT

In continuous ow gas lift, a stream of relatively high pressure gas is injected continuously into the produced uid column through a downhole valve or orice. The injected gas mixes with the formation gas to lift the uid to the surface by one or more of the following processes: Reduction of the uid density and the column weight so that the pressure differential between the reservoir and the wellbore will be increased. Expansion of the injected gas so that it pushes liquid ahead of it, which further reduces the column weight, thereby increasing the differential between the reservoir and the wellbore. Displacement of liquid slugs by large bubbles of gas acting as pistons.

11.3 INTERMITTENT GAS LIFT

Often in gas wells as the bottomhole pressure declines, a point is reached where the well can no longer support continuous gas lift and the well is converted to intermittent gas lift. This conversion can also employ the identical downhole equipment (mainly the gas lift

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