Auto, Natural or In-Situ Gas-Lift Systems Explained

Abstract

TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractThe terms auto, natural or in-situ gas-lift all refer to artificial lift systems that use gas from a gas bearing formation to gaslift a well. The gas-lift gas is produced downhole and bled into the production tubing via an auto gas-lift valve designed for gas operations. The value of auto gas-lift is probably easier to demonstrate than for other types of intelligent well because it provides a direct replacement for conventional gas-lift equipment, compressors, pipelines and the ancillary equipment they require. An estimated 60 auto gas-lift systems have been installed at the time of writing this paper, most of them in the Scandinavian sector of the North Sea. Several papers have discussed this technology but, so far, none have presented a rigorous analysis or solution of the wells' production from a gas-lift perspective. This paper presents the basic theory behind auto gas-lift and how to apply it. The components of the theory are well known and commonly used in Nodal analysis and conventional gaslift design. Properly combining these components allows an auto gas-lifted well's performance to be calculated and downhole equipment to be correctly sized and located.

Role of Artificial Lift in Wells With a Downhole, Flow Control Completion

“…(Olijnik et al, 1996, Anderson, 2005, Vachon and Furui, 2005, Ali and Shafiq, 2008, Ansah et al, 2009, Soegiyono et al, 2010, Al-Mohanna et al, 2011. Related procedures and equipment are available for gas lifted wells with I-completions (Cedeno and Ortiz, 2007, Vasper, 2008, Iyamu et al, 2008, Stephenson et al, 2010. (Konopczynski et al, 2002) describe how an ICV reduces the water cut and the liquid production while increasing the oil production rate.…”