CGE 659

Petroleum Production
System

Artificial Lift – Gas Lift

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Course Outcomes:

1. Describe the principles, components and methods used to

complete and produce oil and gas wells, production
processes, separation, surface facilities, well stimulation
technologies and other advances in oil and gas production
processes.
2. Analyse overall system performance using the appropriate
tools, and determine appropriate size and materials for
components of tubing, flowlines and separation facility
equipment.
3. Explain and design appropriate tools/ techniques/
methods/ technologies relevant to production scenario,
issues, and latest trends.

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Lesson Outcomes:
At the end of this chapter, students
should be able to:

❑ Understand artificial lift requirements

❑ Describe the operational principle,

components, advantages and
disadvantages of the main artificial lift
methods

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Gas Lift
• One of the most common artificial lift methods

• Easy to use under wide range of production conditions.

• Can be used in vertical deviated or horizontal wells

• Can be used in relatively deep wells

• Does not require pump system

• Can be injected through the casing-tubing annulus and inter

the tubing through a gas valve

• Can be injected in the tubing (produce through the

tubing/casing annulus)

• Can be combined with other artificial lift methods.

Faculty of Chemical Engineering
Gas Lift

• Two basic types of gas lift (continuous and

intermittent), and may be classified as open, closed or
semi-closed.

• Continuous gas lift - used in wells with a high PI (more

than 0.5stb/day/psi) and a reasonably high reservoir
pressure relative to well depth.

• Intermittent gas lift - suitable to wells with

• high PI and low reservoir pressure or
• low PI and low reservoir pressure.

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Gas Lift – Operation of Gas Lift System
• High pressure gas from “injection gas manifold” enters the
annulus between tubing and casing, then flows down into tubing
fitted with valves.

• Inside the tubing string, gas will mix with oil from reservoirs to
produce a mixture having low density or provide oil with energy
from gas expansion to push oil into surface.

• When the mixture of gas and oil rise to the wellhead, they will
pass through a production manifold, which is utilized to adjust to the
volume of gas needed to inject to wellbore, and then flow into
gas/oil separator.

• In this equipment, oil will be obtained and transported to oil

storage, onshore or other platforms via pipelines.

• While gas is also produced at the top of separator and

subsequently compressed to high pressure in compressor station.

• Depending on various reservoirs, gas can be employed to inject

to wellbore or to be for gas market.

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Gas Lift

Open Semi-closed
Closed
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Gas Lift
• Open: has no isolation

• Semi-closed: this type has isolation

for the casing annulus

• Closed: this type is the opposite to

the open system; it has isolation for
the casing annulus and check valve
in the tubing

Open Semi-closed
Closed

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Gas Lift - Intermittent
• The gas valve is a motor valve operated (intermittent) - by
connecting a timing device. This kind of valve permits selective
cycling with controlled gas injection.

• The main purpose of intermittent lift is the same as the continuous

flow. However, there is one major difference. In the intermittent lift, a
liquid slug must build up before gas is injected.

• There are two methods for intermittent gas lift

• Single point injection
• Multi-point injection

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Gas Lift - Intermittent
Single Point Injection

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Gas Lift - Intermittent
Multi-Point Injection

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

 Gas Lift – Evaluation of gas lift potential
• There are four gas injection rates that are significant in the
operation of gas lift:

1. Injection rates of gas that result in no liquid flow up the tubing.

The gas amount is insufficient to lift the liquid. If the gas enters
the tubing at an extremely low rate, it will rise to the surface as
a bubbly flow.

2. Injection rates of maximum efficiency where a minimum

volume of gas is required to lift a given amount of liquid.

3. Injection rate for maximum liquid flow rate at the ‘‘optimum

GLR.’’

4. Injection rate of no liquid flow because of excessive gas

injection. This takes place when the friction (in pipe) produced
by the gas prevents liquid from entering the tubing.

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Gas Lift – Evaluation of gas lift potential

• If an unlimited amount of lift gas is available, the injection rate of gas

to individual wells should be optimized to maximize oil production of
each well. If only a limited amount of gas is available, the gas should
be distributed to individual wells based on predicted well lifting
performance.

• If an unlimited amount of gas lift gas is available for a well, the well
should receive a lift gas injection rate that yields the optimum GLR in
the tubing so that the flowing bottom-hole pressure is minimized, and
thus, oil production is maximized.

• The optimum GLR is liquid flow rate dependent and can be found
from traditional gradient curves (Ex: Gilbert charts) or by using VLP
models

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Gas Lift – Summary

• A relative high pressure gas is injected at a certain

depth in the well. This gas reduces the density of
produced fluid. This in turn reduces the hydrostatic
head of the fluid column above the injecting point. This
will increase the tubing head pressure and, in turn
decreases the Bottomhole pressure.

• Injecting gas through the casing/tubing annulus

• Injecting gas through tubing and produce the

casing/tubing annulus

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Gas Lift – Design

• API Book 6 -
http://www.unimasr.net/ums/upload/files/2011/Mar/Un
iMasr.com_4cde90a1cbb0215c615bfb0327c0465c.pdf

• Schlumberger Gas Lift Design and Technology

http://igs.nigc.ir/STANDS/BOOK/Gas-Lift-
Technology.pdf

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Gas Lift – Design (API Book 6)
To design a continuous flow installation, as much of the following information
as possible should be obtained:
1. Tubing and casing size
2. Depth to the center of the perforated interval
3. API gravity of the oil
4. Formation gas-oil ratio
5. Specific gravity of the injection and formation gas
6. Desired daily producing rate (oil and water)
7. Specific gravity of the water
8. Flowing wellhead tubing pressure
9. Injection gas pressure available at well
10. Volume of injection gas available
11. Static bottomhole pressure
12. Productivity index or inflow performance relationship
13. Bottomhole temperature
14. Flowing wellhead temperature
15. Type of reservoir with expected depletion performance
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Gas Lift – Design

Important…
1. Correct calculation of injection pressure at total depth.
2. The selection of proper flowing gradient curves.
3. The selection of the correct unloading GLR for design.
4. The location of the first valve depth within 25 feet.
5. The use of the proper pressure drop from the injection pressure
line.
6. The use of the correct static gradient to space valves to packer
or until valve spacing is less than 300 feet.
7. The use of the correct procedure to select the proper port size.
8. The use of the correct procedure to calculate valve set pressure.

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Gas Lift – Design

Parameters
• How many loading valves are required and at what depth?
• Required settings for the unloading valves?
• Depth of the operating valve where the gas is injected?
• Gas injection (or casing head) pressure ?
• How much lift gas should be injected?
• Tubing head pressure for the target flow rate?
• Power required of gas compressor?
• Gas lift performance curve?

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Gas Lift – Design (API Book 6)

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Gas Lift – Design (API Book 6)

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Gas Lift – Design (API Book 6)

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Gas Lift – Design (API Book 6)

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Gas Lift – Design (API Book 6)

Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Gas Lift – Design (API Book 6)

Faculty of Chemical Engineering