SPE 28598 -ERRATUM

AN ON·LINE METHOD FOR TROUBLESHOOTING GAS·Lin'

WELlS WITHOUT WJRELINE TOOLS
BY
S. L. WELLINGTON, J. F. SIMMONS, AND E. A. RICHARDSON

~~ 1113. 8ocllly Dl Ptlnlltum Eng~. tnG.

Thll PIPII'- prtplflcl tor JW•ntaiiOII at the IIlii Annuli TICIIniOtl Coni.- and Elhltllllatl oltlll Sclcllt~ ol Pettareum Engtn11ra lllld 111 HouiiOII, Texaa. a-1 October tiV3
Thll P11111'- Hlleltd lot pr~ llr Ill 8PE .......... Commiltlt IGilclwtng rawiiW 01 lnlormtllon COnlarn.clll '" ebiiiiiCI IUI:IIndlecl Dy the author(t). Conllilllt Ollhl PIP If.
u prnenlld, 11m 1101 lletn ravttwtc~llr lilt aa.tr CJI l'llralevm .,__,. and are lllllsiCito- Dy tile ..,ttoorCal ,.... 11111111•"· u II'IHI\Iecl, ._, nor ~~-•lly refleco
any IIOIIIIOn olllllllocllty 01 l'eiiOieum Eng~net~~. Ill..,.,., 0t - · · P-111-.cl at SPE miiUnga are llllltKIIO pubiiCaiiOfl ra... w b!' IEdolaroal CCIIIIllldi..S Qllhl Socoeow
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at whtrt anclllr -m lilt PtP''" lllaHIIIId Wille IJIIrartan. IPE. P 0 lloa13:1136. AlchltciiOII. TX 7501:1-3136. US A Tete•. •1532•S SP£UT

AII81'RAC'I'- DESCRJPJ'JON AND .APPLICATION

AV..r llleibod II p.."''Vidld l'or trwbJ.hooUnnu-Hft. w1lll,
&otdmtlf1wbethv au-lift. vaJ.aon \111 production \Qbique
Gplll or cJolld. wlu.&' Ill• u. ofwinline &oall. 'lh• me&hod
IDioY .Jig bl uMtt &o ciNe\ S.Uln lh1 prad&lctlon ttabiqor in
the ..u CM~nc.
INTRODUCTION
Conwntlcma11Ditbcxll or dMctblr culnallab In ....JiftMI
w.u. !lave Involved the ... or wirtJhut &oolt lnc!pcllq
~caJiperaandprodtactioalcp. 'l'b..epthof.-entrJ
roru.~of'lfAIIuu.JJ,&IelmniniiiiiJIJawlnt'pn.uN
INdJint IIUn't)'. Nolllmd ampen&un lopor.Up~r.anQa
ue often v..t &o Joc&t. cumrlleb. 'l'h• winline DJithodl
blve IIYtm 411.-lvaD~.~p~ for the wellopera&or. I' II Ullllll,y
1\ICfiiiiiJ &o lbu'tlowD operadons on \be weD, aL ~ duriDI
lnlutlonudmncmloflbeloooJ& Spedalt7 &oollanUIIdand
~of &h. .-aJaa oRen requlra ape&....-.
,...,. .. . - ~~~a riM Ullldlled with 11111rt1u1 klcllllnto a
WID,IIDceJf\betool ~~~-in dlewllJ, k111a1bl
~ to llllpllmtD& apiZIIIye ftJIIICUal OjliJatJoM •
ai!IDdaa\be..U.
'1'111 UMWIDitbod' cllec:riW In tbJI pep~r aDowadl&eca~onor
prod&ld.IODtUbla Mdc:uliiiii.UaDII to . . . . . . whl&hlr
p~-JUt fthll OD dloe prodtadloA &ubm, ltrllllan opa or
clalld.. fte.....W lapci'GnDid wlllb&h•..UIIIDCipln&loa
Ullwldlou.tllatUIIctwblllneiOola. 'l'IIIIDIIWJelllapli,IDII
1111 for&Jd pii'IIGIIMI to pnfonD with llllblaaiJ -.uJpJIIIDl.
,.._ _ ,....,......... abe awul&a . . . . . uu1J.y
1111 wan.J,Aan4lhoullllaJIIOitca~~~aDowtm.pY&Joaa
&be..U ...
OPTIIB METHOD
Flprel, aiCblm&Uc diaiDm ora ~W\ Wllli,Yitem, II ulld
&o dtiCiibe lhe IDI&.bod. A Jill)• or &nclr Ould mlllcl1nt for
dl&aetlon In lhe produoecl flukla Ia tnjtc&ed Into the Ul\-p11
.appJ¥ line Mil \be wem.d. The J.1l\..pl, containiJII the
tnlcllr fbaid, trawell down the annulua bltwl«l the Will cuinl
and the praduc&Jon tui!U., en&trlq aD)' openlnp alonl the
procluc:Uon tubJna, AD ..q..r Ia atlaehlcl &o lht produced
OuJd line. A IDIA1J •pua&or au.chlll to the w.nhqd may be
IIIIIIOCia&adwlthlheaual,perto~qNp&eaput.leularproduced
fluJcl foranaJJtla, 'l'beuaburtaUIICitodl~thepl'IIIIDCiof
&Mtra~~erlnproduotd Ovldauat\anc:Ucmofdme. 'l'he~r
ma,yblmlllllded&oadlJitalorualopebanlcopyi'IOOrdlr~
proridt apapbbl \'tpraent:\tlon orthl data.
Jlan70uicllan avalWIIII'oru•• the traclr. The b'alllrflv.id
~blb\tlctablelna.alllc:ientquanUQ-udCMrallhorLtim•
perioll.ada IJW ~or muotraoer ltJIDC'Id4ra, au,y 1le dl&ectld
lnand~l'amlltaidlprotlwllclfrom&blwlll. a....
ant prtftrnd lbr thllr- olu• ud mJ.dJIJUt)r with the 111\-
pa. BlwDpln of lllch ..... Include carllob cUGDde, nitric
Ollclt, ammcmll,llllllutiJoalcle and hal~ b,yclrocarbona
u-h • Fnon~. ~ &aaed m'ISoJII oflllda inert
. . . . IU,Y .Jig11eUIId.
Jtllpndinblltob\fletapulaeof'Cbe ln!Dirfl11id, t.e.,aconom·
traeed UlCIIIDt oFtnclr In allbort period ofdm., rather than
\llln(CIIIfttlmaalu b'aOir lnjlc:don. 'l'hla allow. 1M Ull ofpuk
&ncer auJn1e to lllttnnlne \be entr7 po1n&a orthl ~
Ould,MCI thlz.b,thlllft.pllenti'J Into \be production tuhlJII.
Conl.lnuoua II'Mii ID,jlcUcm CIU1 Nlpin 111o1n &ratlll" and
pNMDt. •IDIIlewha an dlflk:ult rwpGMt for~
2 AN ON-LINE METHOD FOR TROUBLESHOOTING GAS-LU"T WELLS SPE26593
WITHOUT WIRELINE TOOLS

FIELD GAS UFT SUPPLY ,...

rrr PRODUCTION
I
'i----

""""' lnfrarad Olgrtal

.........
.._'?""., t -n
COz Ga• f- or Analog

- -
... b.
1"'=-l F't
Analyzer Recor.der

NITROGEN- ""
UQUID COz-

~ G.L.V. 0 231 0'

,. -~ G.L.V. 0 3085'

~ G.L.V. 0 3592'

~ G.L.V. 0 4100'

~~ G.L.V. 0 ...S93'

.... ~~ .. DUMMY 0 5490'

~
"""'l',_.,

~ ~
F=
I=
t=
F
t=
1:81- 18
• ~

8310278102

Fig. 1 - Schemat.ic diagram of gas-lit\ well 54.

822
SPE26593 S. L. WELLINGTON, J. F. SIMMONS, AND E. A. RICHARDSON
Carbon dioxide was 11lected as the tracer fluid in the tests
described in tbia paper. Itia readily available, inexpensive, non-
flammable, easily detected, and compatible with both reaervoir
and litl;paeaandiaenvironmentally acceptable. Furthermore,
theiiiUIIl voluJiliB or COt required for the test C&UII insignif-
icant additional corrosion oftubulars when compared with the
volume• of C01 produced daily from moat wells. C01
concentration is readily monitored in the gu phase by an
infrared (llO spectrometer. Them spectrometer respon11 wu
digitallyrecordedandalsooutput toananalo(chartrecorder, to
provide a continuous crapbical repreaentation of the
concentration ofCO. pr81181lt in the produced gu u a function
of time. The spectroJimer ia easil,y calibrated in the field using
air or small available preaaurizedcanisterscontainincspecified
concentrations orca.. Followingcalibration, the spectrometer
m1t1 also be used to measure CO. concentration in the inJected
Jift..ps and produced pa stream so that one ma,y account for
baclqround CO. levels If neceasary.
Thetracerisanalyzedbycollectingaslipatreamofdryproduced
pa that ia supplied to the analyzer via the smaD weUhead
separator, as shown in Fipre 2. The water and oU must be
Hparated ainc:e th011 ftuida can foul the windows in the
lR spectromater. Carbon dioxide, which also pa.rtltiona into
both the produced brine and oil, may be alternatively detected
in the brine u carbonic acid by titration or llimpl,y by pH
measurement.
The C01 is beat supplied to thalift..pa u a condensed liquid or
supercritical ftuid, which allowa ready injection of a
concentrated tracer pul11. The preferred method is to obtain a
gas cylinder Btted with a dip tube and pressurized with .a
nitropn blanket from apaeupply manufacturer. A dip tub_e
andpressureblanketararequired when theiieldpa-litlaupply
preHUre 8IC88Cia the saturation preaaure or C01 at ambient.
temperature. The nitropn overpreBBUre blanbt rapidly
inJects the required liquid C{)z pulse into the Jitl-pa. InJection
of 6 to 20 Ibm (46 to 180 act') ofcondensed C02 proved effective
and allowedJOOCI tracer reaponae meuuremant. Various high-
pressure CO. c:ylincfar elan are available. For the tests
deacribed in this paper, acyUnder with approximately 60 Ibm of
C02 under a 2,000 psi nitropn blanket wu used. CO. tracer
m111 was determined by weighing the cylinder before and after
each inJected pulll. For .... or handling under difftc:ult
823
3
operating conditions, it ie possible to UBI a small hand-held
cylinder containing a Bingle cbarp of nitrogen-blanket8d
·co2 tracer. It would also be possible to invert a standard
unblanketed C02 cylinder (one without a dip tube) and usa the
bottle and vapor pressure to inject the liquid C02, providing the
bottle preaaure ia sulrlCiently greater than the lif\.gas line
pressure.
PRESENTATION 01' DATA AND RESULTS
The teat reault•lrom application of the tracer method on .....
li1\weDsintwoditTerentGulfcoastoJ1fteldaarap1'818nted. The
now rate or the lift..gu entering the well wu metered by a
standard ~ce plate m~od.2.S. In the firat well, the Jift..pa
walil\iected at a preaure of1,160 psi aild supplied at at rate:of
345,000 acf/d. An accurate measurement of the lift.pa flow
rate is important ·in the11 calculationa. This point will be
discussed in more detail later.
The well waa known to have an annulus volume ofl cubic foot
per6.41ineer feet. AtaYerapcaaingpreaure and temperature,
thiaresultedinalinearvelocltyfortbelift-guofabout986feet
per hourintheannulua. BecauHthecrou-sectional areaofthe
cuing-tubing annulus. was much pater than the crou-
aectional . . - of the production tubin& and because the
production tubing operated at lower pressure, the velocity or
the pain theannuluawaamuchleH thanthevelocityofthepa
rsturning in the production tubing. Con11quently. the amount
of time required for the lif\.pa entering the well to return: to
the aurl'ace, the expected respon11 time, was assumed to be
approximately equal to the amount or time required for the lift..
pa to trjil~ down the annulus and enter into the production
tubing. This 81111UDlpt1on would be valid for moat wells;
however, a correction for travel in the production tubing could
be made.
The mechanical well diqrem indicated then were fmt pa-lift
valvuinstalled with the production tubing. .Aaaumlnconl,ytbe
bottom pa-litl valve was open, and that there were no leaks in
the production tubinr, the expected reapon11 time was
calculated u 280 minutes. The lR llp8Ctrometer reaults are
plotted in Fisure 3. The data clearly showed that there were
three entry points into the production tubing. Therefore, more
than one pe-lit\ valve was open on the production tubing and/
or that the production tubing had a leak(a).
 AN ON-lJNE METHOD FOR TROUBLESHOOTING GAS-lJFT WELLS SPE26593
WITHOUT WJRElJNE TOOlS

1-112" X 112" Thredolet

10001 111 s.s. 12"
(thi'N placea)

1-112~~ Sch. 110

S11 S.S. PIJte
(two plecnJ

Thlclc-Wolled --E~o~N
Gla• Crllndera

318 S.S. Scnen -

1-112" Sch. 110-
311 s.s.Pipe
Coupling

,..

12"
Adaptor
1-1/4" X 112" Nl90let
IOOOf Ill S.S.'

Drain to flow Una

DWJI/01

Fir. 2 - Wellhead alipatream pa-liquid aeparator.

824
SPEZ6593 S. L. WELLINGTON, J. F. SIMMONS, AND E. A. RICHARDSON 5

diagram. The difference in depth, IIII8Wiling the valve location

9 depth on the diagram to be perfectly accurate, was calculated
and expressed as a percentage of the stated well diagram valve
Well 54
8 depth. The percent difference showed an accuracy of
:tl.6 percent. Since the well was new, and a tubinr leak ~
0.42 therefore unlikely, it was concluded that lift gas wu entering
7- Fraction the well through the bottom three valves.
Recovered
~6 l'A1I1L1
c

Is
c
0.27
Calculated
GAS-LlFl' ANALYSIS TEST RESULTS

Response Depth
Installed
Valve Depth
Depth
Difference
Percent
DifFerence
..
84 0.31 (feet) (feet) (feet) (percent)

~3
F
3,631
4,618
3,692
4,100
+39
+58
+1.1
+1.4
4,545 4,693 -48 -1.0
2
SEVEN ADDITIONAL TESTS
1
In another Gulf Coast field, the following aet of gas-lift tracer
~----------~ ~ ~ teats were preformed by injecting 10-20 Ibm C02 into the the
0+--,--,.--.-~.r-~--.-.-r--r-,~__, PI:-lift aupply line of eliCb well and monitoring the response
0 100 200 300 400 500 with an IR spectrometer. Seven testa were performed on four
Elapsed Time, min. wells in three days, two testa each on three of the wells and a
single teat on one well..
Fig. 3 - Tr..- response from well 54. Wel1186 - Testa 1 and 2: Figures 4 and 6.
The position of the fii'St entry point waa calcuJated by Well data
Annulus Size: 7 in.-23# x IJ3/a in.
multiplyingthelinearvelocityofthelii\-pa(986feetperhour)
Meter Orifice Plate: 2 in. x 0.500 in.
=
by the actual responae time (22U60 3.68 feet per hour), which
indicated first entry ofthe lift-gas into the production tubing at Well Diagram
about 3,631 feet. Mandrel Depths: 1,789l\
3,201!\
Above the first point ofen~ the entire gas flow rate to the well 4,261ft
contributed to the linear velocity of gas in the annulus. 4,094 ft, interpreted lit\ point
However, onceaome gasentered the production tubing, thatlin-
earvelocity wasreducedbelowthe point ofentry by the fraction Tracer Reaponae
or total gas that entered the production tubing. The relative
Tracer Cum. Gas Calculated
or
contribution of each point gas entry was eatimated from the Teat Return In.jected Lit\ Depth
relative size of each C02 peak. By integration, it waa No. (min.) SCF (feet)
determjned that 27 percent oftbelift.gas entered at the first
entry point, 42 percent at the second entry point, and31 percent 1 175.1 39,960 4,482
at the third entry point, as noted in Figure 3. Thus, thellnear 2 199.2 46,183 6,827
velocity of gas traveling between the fU'IIt entry point and the
second entry point was calculated to be 720 feet per hour The gas rate on this well was was erratic due to heading and
(73 percent o£986 feet per hour). varied from 222 to 366 MCFPD; hence, depth control was not
good. Very little liquid production and large pressure drop
The incremental depth of the second entry point (627 t\) was
across the iJVection control valve resulted In cool gas inJection.
calculated from the reduced velocity (720 ft/hr) and the
The tentative conclusion was that the well was lil\ing from a
incremental time of travel between the first and aecond entry
single gas-lift valve at 4904 l\. This conclusion was later
pointa(266- 221 = 44minutea,or0.73hour). Thedepthofthe
coruU'IIled by a wireline flowing pressure survey. Amll,jorupaet
second entry point was determined to be 4,168 ft (• 3,631 ft +
in the gas injection rateduringthiatestreduced depth accuracy.
527 l\). The third entry point wu similarly calculated to be
Note the flattened C02 concentration peak in Figura 4. The
4,546feet.
i!Qected tracer pulse was too large and cauaed the IR
The resultaoftheae calculatloiiii are summarized in Table 1 and spectrometer reliponae to top-out at full-scale (10%) C02
compared with the bottom three valve depths found on the well concentration.

825
6 AN ON-LINE METHOD FOR TROUBLESHOOTING GAS-LIFT WELLS SPE26593
WITHOUT WIREIJNE TOOLS

WeD 107- Testa 1 and 2: Figures 6 and 7.

10
Well data
Annulus Size: 5 in. -15# X 23/a in.
9 Test1 Meter Orifice Plate: 2 in. x 0.500 in.
8 Well185 Well Diacram
Mandrel Depths: 1,7961\
X =Mandrel depth 2,7041\
7
'il- 3,4991\
g6 4,2041\, interpreted lift point
11 4,9081\, interpreted lift point

I
5,3961\
5 &,758ft
Tracer Response
4

J 3 Teat
No.
Tracer
Return
(min.)
Cum. Gas
11\iected
SCF
Calculated
Lift Depth
(feet)

2 Peak No. 1 Retum

1 69.6 17,687 3,70.
1
1789ft
'----
4251ft 49041t
2 199.2 45,183 5,327
3201ft
0 I
l
• I
• • I 1
Peak No. 2 Retum
93.6 23,698 4,490
0 40 80 120 160 200 2 101.9 24,066 4,679
Elapsed Time, min.
Two tracer concentration peaks ware observed on repeated
Fig. 4 - Tracer response from well186 teat 1. tests; hence, the well was lifting from two depths. From
material balance of the tracer returned, it ia estimated that
6
39 percent of the PI was iJQected·at the shallowest point of
entry and 61 percent of gas was injected at the deepest point of
Test2 entry. Temperature elTects and ps metering make depth
5 Well185 control uncertain. Injection was probably occurrinrat 4,204 ft
and 4,908 ft; hOwever, it ia also poHible that lift points were
X = Mandrel depth 3,499 ft and 4,20. ft. A subsequent t1owinr preaure IIUI'Vey
indicated only onepointofgaaentey at 4,2041\. However, at the
~4
time or the t1owinr survey, the PI il)jaction rata was
I
.b
301 MCFPD vanua360 MCFPD at the time ofUla tracer test.
The additional PI rate, present during the tracer teat, ~

J~ have caused multipoint PI iqiection.

...
!
~2

1 -vv--
-.A . ......._,..,_, 'v

1789ft 3201ft 4251 ft 4904ft

z z z I
0 I I I I I
0 40 80 120 160 200
Elapsed Time, min.
Fig. 6 - Tracer response from well185 test Z.

826
SPE28693 S. L. WELLINGTON. J. F. SlMMONS, AND E. A. RICHARDSON 7

Well 79 - Teats 1 and 2: Figures 8 and 9.

5
Well data
Test1 Annulus Size: 'I in. -23# x 23/8 in.
Well107 Meter Orifice Plate: 2 in. x 0.500 in.
4 X = Mandrel depth Welll>iapam
Mandrel Depths: 1,911.1\
3,131 t\, interpreted lift point
••~2.ft
4,831 t\
5,654Ct
Tracer Response

Tracer Cum. Gas Calculated

Teat Retum ItUected Lift Depth
No. (min.) SCF (feet)

"--·~-
- ~ \- ..... 1
2
7ol.2
74.8
16,926
17,136
2,789
2,823

The well was Hftln&"f'rom a silllfle valve located at 3,318 ft. The
171161t 2704ft 3411811 420411 4808Il 5388lt
J: J: I J: I J: well was ata'ble. hence the JOOfl reproduCJ"bility from the two
0 I I I I I I testa. The wide valve spaciq near the lift point simplifted
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 ·140 identification of the active pa-Jift; valve. Calculated lift depth
was shallo~ pon~"bly due to cuing preuure uncertainty. The
Elapsed Time, min.
gas temperature was also di01cult to estimate. Warm liquid
production was ob~&rved, and cool gas bijection due to control
Flc. 6 - Tracer retpQn&e f'rom well107 teat L
valve throWinc to 480 psi caainc pre81Ure.
4
Test2 10
Well107 Test1
9
X = Mandrel depth Well79
3 8 X =Mandrel depth
7
it

I8
... 4
6

~
R
3

2
17881t 270411 3488ft 420411 400811 53ll6tt ~
:1 I II I :1 1
o+-~~,~-~,~,~~~,~~,r-~,.~ 1911ft 3138ft 4092ft
I I I
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 0 I I I I I .,.

Elapsed Time, min. 0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Fig. 7 - Tracer response from wel1107 test 2. Elapsed Time, min.

Fig. 8 - Tracer teat response from well 79 teat 1.

827
8 AN ON-LINE METHOD FOR TROUBLESHOOTING GAS-LIFT WELLS SPE28593
WITHOUT WIRELINE TOOLS

gastemperatureat\er diac:barge from the booatcompl'8880rwaa

8~------------------------~ tao•F. The orifice meter wu on the suction Bide or the
Test2 compressor.
1 Well79
4
X = Mandrel depth
6 Well236
X = Mandrel depth
3

*'c

2
tc
8...

1911ft
z
\.

3138ft
z
40e2ft
z
R
1
~-- ~ \...,_... --· ........
o;--r~,~~-r-,~---~,--r-1.--.-,-r-;

0 '20 40 60 80 100. 120

48IIGft 78IOft 86011l 1031111ft
Elapsed Time, min. I z Z I

Fig. 9 - Tracer response from well 79 teat 2. 0 I I I I I I I I

0 40 80 120 160 200 240 280 320

Well 236 - Teat 1: Figure 10.
Elapsed Time, min.
Well data
Annulu1 Size: &1/27 in. -23# x 23~ in. Fir. 10 - Tracer 1'8Bponae from well236.
Meter Orifice Plate: 2 in. x 0.600 in.
DETECTION 01' CARBON DIODDE TRACER
Well Diagram BY pH MEASUREMENT
Mandrel Depths: 4,893 ft
Earlier it was stated that pH meaeurement could be used to
7,690 ft
detect the COJ trac:8r. Figure 11 is aplotofthe normalized C02
9,801 ft, interpreted lift. point;
and hydrogen ion (calculated from pH mauurement)
10,399ft.
concentrations recorded aimuJtaneouaJ, during test 2 on
Tracer Response well 79. As shown in Figure 11, both measurements yield
easentially identical reaponae. Other teats indicated that
Tracer Cum. Gas Calculated
separator deaip improvement would be needed to 8Upport
Teat Return lD,jected Lift. Depth
No. (min.) SCF (feet) general pH measurement. The current separator worked well
for gaa and liquid separation but not for oil and brine
1 216.8 96,362 9,606 separation. Crude oil and/or emulsions ~metlmea tended to
wet the pH probe and caused drift and noisy pH reaponae.
The well was lifting from a aingle valve at 9,801!\. The small However, even when the pH reaponae waa noisy it waa easy to
peak at about 170 minutes auggeata that a small leak was determine the peak tracer response since the peaks were much
occurring through the gu.lift valve Jooated at 7,690 feet. The larger than the noise. The stable response from the infrared
casing pressure and injection rate were very steady due to detector made it the preferred method of C02 tracer detection
location of the boost compreuor near the wellhead. Measured when using the aeparator shown in Figure 2.

828
SPE26593 S. L. WEWNGTON, J. F. SIMMONS, AND E. A. RICHARDSON 9

the linear velocity of the lift-gas traveling between the leak and
the bottom gas-lift valva ia 76 percent or that velocity, or
TEST 2
1 750feetlhour. Knowing the two linear velocities, itie possible to
l,, calculate the depth of the leak as follows:
WELL 79 ,,,,
~
'i'-
,,,,•'
.~ •',,.~

I8 i:tJ
where tr
d!w =
= Reaporiae time for the tracer.
Depth of bottom pa~lift valva.

8. . ,,,, x = Frliction of the depth to the bottom gu.lift

, I
,,,,'"
j ,..
J
11
II
I'
,.
,.~
§ I I
~ [H+]/[H+] 1~ , "I
• • [C02]/[C02] f ~
4 I
I "I
~ ,,
~ ..... ........ J ~
0 I I I I
0 20 40 60 80
.Elapsed Time, min.
Fig.ll - Nonnalized C~ and H+ concentrations from well79
test2.
A HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE TO DEMONSTRATE
CASJNG LEAK DETECTION
Cue 1: Caa.lng Leak above the Open Gas-Lift Valve
In thil hypothetical example, thec:haracteristicaofthe well are
similar to the well described in the fll'llt Gulf Coast teat. The
wall bu an annulus volume or 1 cubic foot per 6.4 linear feet,
and the lift-gas flow rata ia determined to be 360,000 acf/d. The
linear velocity or the Jift..pa at averap weU conditions ia
1,000 feet per hour. c~ ia used as the tracer and monitored in
the produced pa, as in the previous tests. The bottom active
gu-Ji& valva ia located at approximately 6,000 feet. Auuming
no Iaska in the caain& the tracer wiD reach the open ,_.tift
valvemd return to the aurface in five houn.
However, there is no peak after five houra, and the peak occun
onlyal'terslxhours,one hour later than expected. Aain the rnt
teat, the total response time for tbatraceria the time it takes for
thetracartoraacbtbafartheatpointorentryontheproduction
tubiDf. Since the actual response time is greater than the
expected response time, this indicates that the velocity ia
reduced due to a leak from the casing above·the bottom open
gas-lilt valve. It is determined, by quantifying the C~ in the
produced ps, that only 76 percent of the CO:~ returns.
Colllllquently. 25 percent or the tracer is lost to the leak.
The linear velocity of the liR-gu above the leak Ia known to be
l,OOOCeetlhour. lf25 percentofthelift-gas is lost to a leak, then
valve at which a leak exists.
v1 •
v2 •
Gas velocity above casing leak.
Gas velocity below casing leak.
It is known that the reeponaetime for thetracerisaixhoure, the
depth of the bottom gas-lift valva is 5,000 feet, the pa velocity
above the casing leakisl,OOO feet/hour, and that the velocity or
the gas below the casing leak is 750 feet/hour. It is calculated
that x • 0.40, and that the depth ofthecasingleakie40 percent
orthe depth to the bottom pa-lift valve, reaultiftC in a casing
... "''
leak depth .r 2,000. feet •
Case 2: Casing Leali; B,low the Open Gas-Lift Valva
100
In the altemative, if a casing leak is below the open gas-lift
valva, a partial lou of the tracer will apin occur; however, the
remaining tracer wiU return at the expected respOnse time.
This is because the linear velocity or the lift..ps will be
calculated baaed on the aupply rate when the lift.psenten the
openpa-tift valva. Conaequen~ it ianotpouible todetermine
the depth ofa casing leak located at or below the bottom gas-lift
valve, only that the casing leak is at a depth equal to or greater
than the open plift valva depth. The volume oflift..pa lost
through the leak may be quantified through material balance
calculations on the tracer. Al:ceptable material balance values
in the low nineties were observed in the field teats. Lo• ofCOa
to the oil and brine was neglected since' nearl,y ell the C02
llaabes into the larp volume of low-pressure lift pa.
Correctiona for such losHB could be made if required.
CONCLUSIONS
The field trials confirm that the ps lift tracer test can
determine the gas-lit\ injection depth and identify multiple
points of injection. The method is simple and eaB)' for field
personnel to perform with minimal equipment. The results
obtained were readily analynd onaite. Gas-lift. valva location
accuracy wu good, within 1 to 2'JI ofthe weU diagram position,
when the casing pressure and lift..psiJ\iectionratewere atead,)t
When conditions were leaa optimum or uncertainty in ps
temperature and pressure occurred, ac:curacy was limited to
lOIJ, which is of the order of gas-lift valva spacing.
Better measurement methods are required to reduce errors
aaaociated with varying gas injection rates. The averap ps
density in the casing of some wells was also difficult to defme
precisely because of uncertainty in pa temperature and

829
10 AN ON-LINE METHOD FOR TROUBLESHOOTING GAS-LIFT WELLS
WITHOUT WIRELINE TOOLS
pressure. The tempei'Mure wu diffieult to estimate due to
Joule-Thompson cooUngofthe paat the flow control valve
near the wellhead and warminc or the pa by produced Ruids.
Accuracy could be bnprovedbydilitalpressurerecordingofthe
orifice plate atatic p1'881Ure alid ditl'erential pressure to
or
facilitate num~cal inteption the gas injlcted. The pa
temperature and gravity mightalaobedetermined at the meter
run bec:auae both have a peat impact. on the orifice coet1icient..
Similar~ thedlllllityofthe caaincpsCould be JDOre accurately
estimated by using a "test pup" to determine the casing
pre~eure. Improwd measurement of the iJVected pa and
produced fluid te~tures would also permit more precise
evaluation ol the cuing pa denait.y. The improved
meuurements should easily reduce valve location error to
within 2 to & percent.
SUMMARY
1. Field trials on muWpleweJJa indicate that a pa tracer may
be Ul8d to determine whet.ber pa-lift valves along the
production tubiq'are openorclo11d. The method ma,y alao
be ulllll to cletect leaks in the produ~Uon tubiq or eaaiq.
2. The method i1 performed withqut diaturbfnl normal well
operation. Downtime and loatpfGduct.ionare avoided Iince
toola are not, inserted into the wen.
3. The method ia simple and eaa,y for field personnel to
perform with minimal equipment. Seven telt8 were
performed d~ three da,a in this at.udy, demonatrating
tbe eaae of application of the tracer method.
4. Thereaultaobt.ained are aaaytoaulyzeand should in moat
casei allow onaite interpntatlon.
830
SPE26693
&. The preferred tracer, carbon dioxide, is inexpensive, easily
detected, and environmentally acceptable.
6. Field trials have highlighted areu, including lift.ps
metering, density and preuure, where the the tracer
method ma,y be improved to yield higherdepth-ot:.b~tion
accuracy, iC needed.
7. The tracer method abould allow on-line evaluation and
tuniq of pa-lift wells when multiple valves are
determined to be open. The in,jection pressure may be
altered in an attempt to cl0111 open valve• and t.he well
reteated to determine IUCCIBB or failure.
8. The riab and danger• lliiOCiated wit.h wireline methods
· are avoided.
ACKNOWLBDGM)!:NTS
The aut.honoft.biapaper would like to thank.KermitTIChiedel
for histirel111r18ldworkandGeorpStegemeierfor hiaaupport
and inaipt. The authors alao thank Shell Development Co. for
permiallion to publiah this paper.
REPERBNCES
1. UnitedStatea Patent 6,031,697. July 16, 1991. ".Method
for Troubleahootfnl Gas-Lit\ l'Atlla," Shen Oil Comp~
Houston. TX.
2. Frick, Thome~ C. (ed.): "Petroleum Production
Hudboolt." Vol. 1, Mathenl8tica and Production
Equipment,McGraw-HUI,~ 196Z.
3. Engjnearfnl Data Book, published by the Gu Proceaaon
Supplien Asaodation, Tulsa, Ok., Ninth Edition, 1972,
pp.l-23.