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5 Some Practical Aspects of Unloading and Operation

Some Practical Aspects of Unloading and Operation

We should now say a few words about the practical aspects of gas lift operation. After gas lift valves have been
installed in our well, the first operation is to unload the fluids. Our objective is to unload the well without
excessive pressure, so that a final, stabilized production rate can be easily obtained. The well may be unloaded
either intermittently or continuously. It is normal for a well placed on continuous gas lift to be unloaded
continuously, and for a well placed on intermittent gas lift to be unloaded intermittently.

Let us first consider continuous gas lift. Our first step is to inject gas slowly into the annulus, probably through a
choke, located at the surface. Pressure is increased approximately 100 psi every 10 minutes. Immediately the kill
fluid will be produced through the tubing. It is common practice to unload the well into a pit onshore or a tanker
offshore until gas starts coming around the first valve or until oil appears in the produced fluid. A steady stream
of fluid will be unloading. If these fluids are turned into a separator, remember to keep the backpressure on the
well as low as possible. As gas is continuously injected into the annulus, a gradual increase in casing pressure is
required to keep fluids flowing from the tubing string.

Valve 1, the uppermost valve, will eventually be uncovered, and gas then enters the tubing string. This is noted at
the surface by a immediate increase in the velocity of the stream of fluid coming out of the tubing string. A
mixture of gas and liquid will soon be produced at the surface, and the casing pressure will level off at the surface
operating pressure of valve No. 1. As gas continues to enter the annulus, the liquid column in the annulus is
lowered until valve No. 2 is uncovered. As soon as this valve is uncovered, gas will flow through it and enter the
tubing. Casing pressure will drop to the surface operating pressure of this valve. At about the same time, pressure
in the annulus opposite valve No. 1 should have been reduced to a low enough level to cause the valve to close.

Unloading continues from valve to valve until the bottom operating valve is uncovered. At this point the
bottomhole pressure has been reduced to a level where the formation is able to produce into the tubing, and
where the gas injected through the operating valve is sufficient to lift the production under design conditions.

The unloading process for an intermittent gas lift well is, in principle, very similar to a continuous flow unloading
process. The only significant difference is that the fluid load is unloaded at the surface in the form of piston-like
slugs of liquid. The procedure for intermittent flow is the same as that for continuous flow until valve No. 1 is
uncovered. At this point, the well is placed on intermittent control for unloading. This is accomplished with a
choke or a time cycle controller at the surface so that the well is alternately produced and shut-in. During this
period, the liquids in the annular space will continue to be U-tubed into the tubing and produced as slugs. A good
cycle for unloading is obtained with two to four minutes of gas injection every 20 to 30 minutes. This allows
ample time for stabilization to take place between slugs.

Once the desired operating valve is reached, the choke size or cycle time is adjusted to suit the well’s production
characteristics. Thus, for example, you may start operation with a rather large number of cycles per day and then,
in response to the well’s production behavior, begin to reduce them in order to reach an optimal condition. When
the liquid production rate begins to fall off, you have just passed the optimal number of cycles per day. With this
information, it is possible to make further refinements to the process by reducing the duration of gas injection
during each cycle. The ultimate objective is to maximize production and minimize gas volume required. A very
useful monitoring procedure involves the simultaneous recording of the shapes of the tubing and casing

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 1.5 Some Practical Aspects of Unloading and Operation

pressures. Adjustments are made on the basis of the shapes of these two curves.

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