Natural Gas-Lift: Theory and Practice

Abstract

Natural Gas-Lift: Theory and Practice S. Betancourt; S. Betancourt Schlumberger Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar K. Dahlberg; K. Dahlberg Norsk Hydro Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Ø. Hovde; Ø. Hovde Norsk Hydro Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Y. Jalali Y. Jalali Schlumberger Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paper presented at the SPE International Petroleum Conference and Exhibition in Mexico, Villahermosa, Mexico, February 2002. Paper Number: SPE-74391-MS https://doi.org/10.2118/74391-MS Published: February 10 2002 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Get Permissions Search Site Citation Betancourt, S., Dahlberg, K., Hovde, Ø., and Y. Jalali. "Natural Gas-Lift: Theory and Practice." Paper presented at the SPE International Petroleum Conference and Exhibition in Mexico, Villahermosa, Mexico, February 2002. doi: https://doi.org/10.2118/74391-MS Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll ProceedingsSociety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)SPE International Oil Conference and Exhibition in Mexico Search Advanced Search Abstract This paper examines the concept of "natural gas-lift" or production of oil by in situ gas. This process involves the commingled production of an oil reservoir and a contiguous or non-contiguous gas zone in a controlled mode as an alternative to artificial gas-lift. Besides the normal conception of gas-lift as a remedy to high water-cut flow, lift assistance may be required at startup to commission production, and can also be required at low to moderate water-cut, when the wellhead pressure requirements are stringent. The latter is typical of subsea installations and platform installations with high-pressure processing. Contiguous gas-lift is a more complex process, due to the interaction of the oil column with the overriding gas-cap, but can be envisaged more easily than non-contiguous gas-lift which requires the presence of a suitable gas zone or depleted oil zone. We present results of numerical modeling of the contiguous gas-lift process for horizontal wells, for the case of a conceptual reservoir model with characteristics similar to certain North Sea provinces. Results show the applicability of natural gas-lift dependent upon standoff (with respect to the initial gas-oil and water-oil contacts) and target production rate. We also address design considerations for natural gas-lift applications and report the operational experience gained in the Troll field with contiguous or gas-cap gas-lift applications. Finally we examine a gas-lift application of the non-contiguous type. Keywords: liquid production rate, oil rate, application, control valve, gas injection, gas breakthrough time, aquifer, production rate, valve, requirement Subjects: Artificial Lift Systems, Well & Reservoir Surveillance and Monitoring, Reservoir Simulation, Gas lift Copyright 2002, Society of Petroleum Engineers You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.