Gas Lift Unloading using OLGA 2000

OLGA 2000 has been used to simulate both the steady state operation and the
unloading process in gas lifted by using the Controller options available with
standard OLGA combined with the Advanced Well Module. This allows both
the thermal and hydraulic transients experienced during unloading operations
to be simulated.

The as-built well model can

then be used to quickly and
cheaply evaluate operating
problems as they occur
prior to implementing costly
well interventions.
Well Set-up
The Annulus keyword is
used to model the gas lift
annulus with a number of
Leaks installed to provide
communication between the
well annulus and tubing.
Each leak is then assigned
a gas lift valve to control the
opening and closing of the
valve during the unloading
process.
The opening of each gas lift
valve is dictated by the
annulus
and
tubing
pressure to varying degrees

the local pressure in the

casing.
This is then
compared against the actual
tubing pressure to determine
if the gas lift valve is open.

T U B IN G

based on the design of the

valve. The dome pressure
also changes depending on
the local temperature. All of
these factors, in addition to
the presence of a check
valve, can be accounted for
in
OLGA to
correctly
simulate
the
dynamic
operation of the gas lift
valve.
Controller Set-up

PD
AD
AC

PC

AT

The gas lift valve operation

is
simulated
using
a
combination of cascade and
PID controllers. The dome
pressure in the gas lift valve
is first modified based on
the temperature at depth.
The output is then used to
determine
the
tubing
pressure at which the gas
lift valve will open based on

PT

ANNULUS

Simulation Results
The production flowrates
predicted by an OLGA
simulation of the unloading
of a typical well containing 6
gas lift valves and 1 injection
valve are presented below.

Trend data
TOTAL MASS FLOW PRODUCTION,PIPING_1,2 [kg/s]
GAS MASS FLOW PRODUCTION,PIPING_1,2 [kg/s]
TOTAL LIQUID MASS FLOW PRODUCTION,PIPING_1,2 [kg/s]
MASS FLOW RATE OF OIL PRODUCTION,PIPING_1,2 [kg/s]
MASS FLOW RATE OF WATER EXCLUDING VAPOUR PRODUCTION,PIPING_1,2 [kg/s]

30

25

20

kg/s

Traditional gas lift design

methods utilise steady state
methods.
However, the
actual unloading operation
is dynamic with wells
potentially taking days to
achieve stable production
rates. Dynamic simulation
of the well is therefore
required to ensure that the
final well design is correct
and to confirm the start-up
routines for the wells as
they change during field life.

15

10

0
0.5

1.5

2
Time [h]

Well Instability - Kick-of f Gas Simulations

2.5