What is Plunger Lift?

Plunger Lift is an artificial lift method that uses the wells own energy (gas and/or pressure) to lift
accumulated fluids from the tubing and annulus.
The system operates through a series of shut-in periods and flow periods, intermitting the well.
Intermitting alone is very inefficient due to the fluid fall back during the flow cycle. The rule of thumb
for intermitting is approximately 10% of the fluid slug is lost for every 1,000 ft of lift. A plunger utilizes
an interface seal between a fluid in the tubing and stored gas in the annulus. The head gas is blown
down creating differential pressure across the plunger, which brings both the plunger and
accumulated fluid to the surface.
Seal efficiency is critical for effective plunger operation. The amount of fluid and gas being produced
must be taken into account when selecting the plunger type. The more fluid being produced the
better the seal efficiency must be.

The Benefits of Plunger Lift are:

Low capital cost.

No rig required to install.

No fuel cost.

Low maintenance.

Stabilized well production.

Minimal well downtime.

Can be moved to other wells.

To meet a variety of needs, we offer a complete selection of conventional, bypass, and staged
systems that cover a wide range of applications efficiently and productively:

Conventional Plungers (brush, padded, bar stock)

Bypass Plungers (fast drop and bypass styles)

Staged Plunger Systems

Controllers and Automation Systems

Complete System Design and Training (classroom and field)

Candidate Wells

Plunger Lift is appropriate for wells exhibiting the following conditions:

Wells with unstable production (liquid loading).

Wells being intermitted, swabbed or vented.

Gas locked pumping wells.

Wells with large differential between the casing and tubing flowing pressure.

Wells with liquid to gas ratios (LGR) less than 150 bbl/mmcfd.

Operating Depth
Operating Volume
Operating Temperature
Wellbore Deviation

Typical

Maximum

8,000 ft TVD*

21,000 ft TVD*

1-5 BPD

200 BPD

120F

500F

N/A

35 degrees Conventional 70 degrees Bypass

Corrosion Handling

Excellent

Gas Handling

Excellent

Solids Handling

Poor to Fair
2-3/8" = 400 SCF / BBL /1,000 ft Lift

GLR Required
2-7/8" = 600 SCF / BBL / 1,000 ft Lift
Service

Wellhead Catcher or Wireline

Prime Mover Type

*TVD - True Vertical Depth

Wells Natural Energy

BPD - Barrels per Day

SCF - Standard Cubic Feet

Mechanical considerations that may lead to problems:

BBL - Barrels

Well

Sand

Scale

Temperature

Tubing

Continuous ID (packers, anchors, crimps, rod cut, scale, soap buildup)

Packer or tubingless completions

End of Tubing (EOT)

Wellhead

Continuous ID (valves, tees, landing threads, hanger, wrong wellhead size)

Unnecessary valves or tees

Piping not plumb

Not using flanged master valves for safety

Surface Equipment

Tank and separator capacities

Bottle necks, chokes

Flow line limitations (pressure increases when plunger is flowing/arriving)

Orifice plate sizing

Compression

Centralized or single wellhead compression

Suction pressure control

Wells fight for line space correct compressor size, synchronization

High line pressure delays

By-pass valve configuration

Bypass or Freecycle Plunger Lift Systems

Bypass plungers are meant for good wells. This plunger type is dependent on gas rate

instead of build pressure. Since the advantage to running these plungers is greatly reduced shut in
times, the well does not build enough pressure to cycle the plunger. The rule of thumb for successful
operation is that the well MUST produce a minimum of 70% of the surface critical rate.
There are two types of Bypass plungers: Continuous Flow and Quick Falling.
Continuous Falling plungers are designed to fall against flow. These are wells that have just started
showing signs of liquid loading and by sweeping the tubing walls of accumulating fluid the well will
continue to flow naturally.
Quick Falling plungers are designed for good wells that are operating at the minimum gas
requirement (70% of surface critical rate). These wells require a very short shut in time to overcome
low gas velocities due to liquid loading. Where a Conventional plunger may require a minimum of 45
minutes of shut in time to fall and build pressure, these wells may only require 10 20 minutes.
Therefore, the Quick Falling plunger has been designed to fall at a much faster rate to get to the
bottom hole spring. These plungers will typically fall at rates of approximately 700 900 ft/min.

The most important operating parameter for these plungers is After Flow. Similar to a Conventional
plunger lift, once the plunger has lifted the fluid to the surface the well must be given some time to
accumulate fluid for the next cycle.
Note: Due to the bypass areas of these plungers, it is highly recommended that an auto-catch
assembly be run. This will ensure that the plunger is held in the lubricator until the controller signals
the plunger to fall. Failure to run the auto-catch may result in reduced gas rates, due to the plunger
restricting flow, and possible dry cycling of the plunger.