PiNTAR Gas Lift System: Paving the Way for Automated Field Implementation

Abstract

As oil and gas development in Indonesia is shifting towards offshore environment, automation is essential for reducing operating cost. PHE ONWJ as the biggest oil and gas operator in Indonesia develops an automated field operation for gas lift optimization, called PiNTAR. PHE ONWJ has been operating gas lift wells for almost 40 years. The biggest challenge is how to efficiently conduct the business operations in offshore environment. The current regular operations (for instance production monitoring) are conducted manually in monthly basis. It is time-consuming and requires long time for trouble shooting. PiNTAR is designed by PHE ONWJ by integrating smart signal system that can be operated remotely without having to be physically presence at the site. The system is integrated with SCADA sensors, satellite system and fully electronic transmitter that sends production data and related parameters to PHE ONWJ head office to be analyzed 24/7 and mitigated if necessary. PiNTAR has been implemented on more than 50 wells in PHE ONWJ working areas. PHE ONWJ also provides interactive Graphical User Interface based software for monitoring and production adjustment purposes. Standardization is also performed therefore PiNTAR can be implemented in a wider area, with different gas lift situations. PiNTAR enables operators to quickly diagnose flow irregularities ranging from adjusting injected Gas Liquid Ratio (GLR) to minimize annular flow, modify choke openings, dynamic reallocation of injected gas from multiple well systems, and also allows the team to comprehend a significant amount of flow characteristics in gas lifted wells as measurements are taken in a very small-time frame, ranging from minutes to seconds. PiNTAR also enables automated production test that enables the construction of real time Gas Lift Performance Curve, which reduces operator workload and enables dynamic gas lift optimization. Implementation of PiNTAR also reduces HSSE risks for rope jumping operations in offshore and increases efficiency of fuel and personnel timing in platform. The publication presents a success story of gas lift automated optimization using in-house development from PHE ONWJ called PiNTAR. Significant monetary efficiency as well as production increase has been observed during the implementation, encouraging the company to pursue further field automation efforts.