Guidelines & Recommended Practices

Selection of Artificial Lift Systems

for Deliquifying Gas Wells
Prepared by Artificial Lift R&D Council
2.4l Continuous Gas-Lift
This section discusses the practical limits of continuous gas-lift in terms of
liquid production rate, gas production rate, depth, pressure, temperature, etc.
It presents rough guidelines on the relative costs of continuous gas-lift.
Obviously precise costs can not be given as they depend on many factors. It
presents rough guidelines on the relative life expectancy of continuous gaslift. Clearly, precise expectations can not be given as they depend on many
factors. It concludes with a brief comparison of continuous gas-lift with
continuous gas circulation and intermittent gas-lift.

General Comments on Gas-Lift for Gas Wells

At first blush, it may seem strange to inject gas to produce gas.
However, for many wells this is a very practical process. Several
artificial lift methods used to deliquify gas wells require use of energy
from the well. This is true of velocity strings, all chemical processes, and
plungers. The wells native energy is needed to produce the well, lift
the plunger, etc.
When the reservoir pressure decreases, or the inflow decreases, the
well may no longer be able to supply the energy needed to produce
liquids from the well with velocity strings, chemicals, or plungers. When
this occurs, energy must be added to remove the liquids. This can be
done with pumping systems, or with gas-lift.
Pumping systems require energy at the well to operate the pump. In
remote locations, this may be a problem. If there is a source of high
pressure gas from a central compression facility, gas-lift can be used
without the needed for an energy source at the well, with the possible
exception of solar power to operate a wellhead monitoring and control
system,
And, if gas can be injected below the perforated interval, it can
potentially deliquify the entire well. This can be difficult to achieve with
some pumping systems, especially in deviated or horizontal wells.
So, there can be an important role for gas-lift in the deliquification of
many gas wells.

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Practical Limits and Issues

Depth Limits and Concerns. There are no practical limits to the

depth for use of continuous gas-lift. The depth depends on the
pressure that can be used for the injection gas, and the number of
unloading gas-lift mandrels that can be installed in the tubing. Most
continuous gas-lift systems are in the depth range from 5,000 to
10,000 feet vertical depth. However, there are systems that are
much shallower, and there are systems installed to 15,000 feet
vertical depth.
The goal of gas-lift for gas wells is to add enough gas so the total
gas flow rate of injected gas plus produced gas is high enough
achieve and maintain critical flow velocity. The amount of gas to
achieve critical flow velocity depends on the cross-sectional area of
the production conduit(s).
If gas is injected below the packer in the casing, so it can be
injected below the perforated interval to achieve maximum
deliquification of the well, the cross-sectional area may be larger
than the cross-sectional area of the tubing, so more gas may be
needed to achieve and maintain critical flow below the packer.
However, there are several approaches to reduce the flow area
below the packer. These can include use of a dead string below the
packer, or injection down a tube below the packer and production
up the annulus between the casing and the injection tube.

Size Limits and Concerns. Size is not really an issue with gas-lift.
Typically for gas wells, the production tubing will be 2-inch or 2.5inch. Typically this can support use of KB or MM mandrels that
can accommodate 1-inch or 1.5-inch gas-lift valves.
There may be some wells with small casing that only support use of
small tubing or coiled tubing. There are gas-lift systems that can
use small gas-lift valves that can work with these small tubing
sizes.

Pressure Limits and Concerns. Gas-lift systems can be

designed for any operating pressure from a few hundred psi up to
2,000 or 3,000 psi. Typically, for gas wells, the pressure needs to
be high enough to unload the well (remove liquid from the annulus).
This depends on the depth of the well and the number of unloading
mandrels used. Typically, for most gas wells, an operating pressure
will be between 800 and 1,200 psi.

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Temperature Limits and Concerns. An advantage of gas-lift is

that it is not limited by temperature. For most gas wells, the
temperature at depth in the well will be essentially equal to the
geothermal temperature. In other words, the temperature of the
produced gas will essentially be equal to the temperature of the
earth at the depth of the reservoir.
Temperature is an issue when setting unloading gas-lift valves,
since the values typically use a nitrogen-charged dome and
bellows. The closing pressure asserted by the bellows is a function
of the pressure of the nitrogen in the bellows, which is a function of
temperature. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately estimate the
temperature of the gas-lift valves during the unloading process. For
gas wells, a reasonable assumption if that that temperature of each
gas-lift valve is equal to the earth temperature at the depth of the
valve. This is OK since the gas has a low heat carrying capacity
and will rapidly cool to equal the temperature of its surrounds as it
rises in the tubing.

Rate Limits and Concerns. For gas wells, the rate of gas injection
should be controlled to be equal the amount of gas that is needed
to be added to the produced gas to achieve and maintain critical
flow. This can be a dynamic, changing amount as the native
production rate of the well changes.
To determine the amount of gas to inject, it is necessary to
determine the critical velocity so enough gas can be injected to
keep above the critical velocity. There are other sections in this
document (and on this web site) that describe how to calculate the
critical velocity. The critical velocity needs to be determined at the
depth where the flow area is greatest. If this is below the packer,
then this area must be used. And the pressure and temperature of
the gas at that depth must be used to determine the required critical
velocity.
Once the required critical velocity is determined, the rate of gas
injection can be controlled to assure that the actual velocity is
maintained slightly above the critical value to assure that the well is
being continuously deliquified.
The rate of gas that can be injected into a gas-lift well is a function
of a number of factors:
- The available surface injection pressure.
- The size of the injection flow path, either down the casing/tubing
annulus or down an injection tube.

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- The size of the gas-lift valve or orifice port size or choke size
through which the gas is injected.
There are accurate computer programs that can determine the
injection pressure profile in a well if the surface injection pressure
and temperature are known, the size and length (depth) of the
injection flow path(s) is/are known, and the characteristics of the
gas-lift valve or orifice are known.

Limits and Concerns with Sand, Corrosion, Erosion, H2S, CO2,

etc. Gas-lift systems can be designed and operated to handle
limited amounts of sand. With the use of appropriate chemicals,
corrosion can be handled. Erosion occurs if the gas and liquid
production is carrying an erosive material (e.g. hydrates, sand,
scale, etc.) that can impinge on metal surfaces. This can be
controlled by controlling the amount of erosive materials. Gas-lift
wells that produce gas are typically operated with natural gas. If
some H2S or CO2 is present, this must be dealt with to prevent
corrosion from occurring.
- Sand. An advantage of gas-lift is that it can handle some sand.
Typically, there is a clear flow path from the gas-lift injection
point to the surface. Clearly, sand can more easily be produced
in a gas-lift oil well. In a gas well, some sand can be
transported with the liquid that is being lifted (produced) from
the well. If a gas well has a serious sand production problem. It
will be necessary to limit the sand production by using a sand
control method such as a gravel pack or a screened liner. In
some cases, sand production can be limited by limiting the
pressure drawdown and the rate of change of pressure
drawdown from the reservoir to the wellbore.
- Corrosion. If corrosion exists in a gas-lift well, the normal and
most effective process is to inject enough corrosion prevention
chemical with the injection gas. The necessary amount can be
determined by a Chemical Engineer. The chemical injection can
be controlled to inject just the needed amount of chemical. The
chemical will protect the injection flow path, and the production
flow path.
- Erosion. If clean, dehydrated gas is used for injection, there
should not be a problem of erosion occurring due to the gas. If
un-dehydrated gas used, there may be many problems
including hydrate formation, damage to injection valves or
orifices, etc.

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If a well produces solids (sand or scale), the solids may erode

pipe where there is a high velocity or a large pressure drop. It is
best to prevent the production of sand or the formation of scale
with appropriate chemical injection.
- H2S. If there is an H2S concentration in the produced gas, the
H2S should be removed before the gas is injected into the well
for gas-lift. If it is not, there may be a safety hazard and there
will likely be corrosion.
- CO2. If there is a CO2 concentration in the produced gas, it may
be necessary to use special materials to prevent corrosion due
to formation of carbonic acid.

Power Requirements and Concerns. The power requirements for

gas-lift have to do with the compression of gas to high pressure for
injection. There are several approaches to provide high pressure
gas.
- Central Compression Facility. The most common approach is
to use a central compression facility to compress gas for the
field operation. A typical schematic of such a system is shown
here. Some of
the gas may be
sold, some may
be used for
various
purposes in the
facility, and
some may be
distributed for
gas-lift
injection. The
operation of
central
compression
facilities is
beyond the
scope of this
document. A
compression
system engineer, or engineering contractor, should be consulted
to determine the design of the facility, the power requirements,
etc.

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One very important consideration is dehydration of the gas.

There are many problems associated with using un-dehydrated
(wet) gas. These include the possibility of forming hydrates that
can block injection control chokes or valves, difficulties with gas
injection measurement, difficulties with control, and potential
downhole problems. The normal recommendation is to
dehydrate the gas to less than 7 pounds of water vapor per one
million cubic of gas.
- Wellhead (or Well Site) Compression Facility. Many
operators of gas wells use wellhead or well site compression
facilities to boost the gas pressure for flow to a central gathering
station. This can permit the well to be operated at a very low
wellhead pressure (perhaps even below atmospheric pressure)
to augment production from the well. In some cases, there
wellhead or well site compressors can also be used to
compress that gas to high enough pressure for gas-lift injection.
A caution here is that sometimes this gas is not dehydrated and
problems from using wet gas may occur.
- High Pressure Gas. In some fields there is high pressure gas
from gas wells available for gas-lift injection. In this case, it may
be necessary to control (reduce) the pressure to that needed for
gas-lift. And it may be necessary to dehydrate the gas to
remove water vapor.

Installation Requirements and Concerns. There are several

important installation requirements associated with
gas-lift for gas wells.
- Unloading. Even if the reservoir pressure may
be low, it is still necessary to install unloading
gas-lift mandrels and valves to unload
completion or workover fluid from the annulus.
For this process, a conventional unloading
design as is used for gas-lift of oil wells should
be used.
- Gas-Lift Mandrels. Gas-lift mandrels must be
used to install the gas-lift valves used for
unloading. The schematic here shows a typical
deign with gas-lift mandrels for unloading. For
most gas wells, KB style mandrels that can
accommodate 1-inch gas-lift valves are
adequate. If the casing size is too small for use
of normal KB style mandrels, it may be

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necessary to use smaller tubing or even coiled tubing. There are

gas-lift mandrels designed to work with small tubing and coiled
tubing.
- Gas-Lift Valves. For unloading gas wells, 1-inch
injection pressure operated (IPO) gas-lift valves
should be used. If smaller tubing or coiled tubing is
used, smaller gas-lift valves may be necessary. At
the operating depth (normally the bottom gas-lift
mandrel), an orifice may be used rather than a gaslift valve. A schematic of a gas-lift valve in a
mandrel is shown here.
- Packer. When gas is injected down the
casing/tubing annulus, a packer should be used to
prevent the injection pressure from being exerted on
the formation. If gas is being injected below the
packer, a mechanism is needed to allow the gas to
pass below the packer. There are several designs
available from different companies to allow this to
occur.

Operating Requirements and Concerns. There are several

important operational requirements associated with gas-lift for gas
wells.
- Measurement. The rate of gas injection must be measured so
it can be controlled, and so surveillance of the gas-lift operation
can be conducted in a routine basis. There are many methods
for measurement. The most effective is to use a real-time
production automation system (some people refer to this as a
SCADA system) to measure gas injection rate (and volume) on
a continuous basis. Some operators measure gas injection
manually, but this is never as efficient or effective as using an
automation system.
Various devices can be used for gas measurement. These
include orifice meters, turbine meters, vortex meters, etc. Each
can be effective if they are properly installed, operated, and
calibrated.
- Calculation of Gas Velocity. Based on the measured gas
injection rate, the velocity can be calculated in the production
paths. The velocity may vary if gas is being injected down the
annulus and then down a tube below the packer to reach an
injection point below the perforated interval. The velocity must

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be the actual velocity of the gas, which depends on the pressure

and temperature profile in the well. Therefore, the calculation
system, which will either be in the production automation system
or in a computer system that is supporting the operation, must
have a means to calculate or estimate the pressure and
temperature of the gas at depth in the well.
In addition to the actual gas velocity, the critical gas velocity
must be calculated so the two can be compared. The goal is to
inject enough gas to keep the actual gas velocity above the
critical velocity so the well can be continuously deliquified.
- Control of Gas Injection Rate. The gas injection rate must be
controlled to be sufficient to achieve and maintain critical flow.
The required rate will depend on where the gas is being injected
into the tubing. This may be above the packer, below the packer
but in a vertical portion of the well, or potentially below the
packer and in a horizontal portion of the wellbore.
- Surveillance. The goal is to inject the gas on a continuous
basis as deep in the well as possible, so the entire production
path can be deliquified. Problems can occur in a gas-lift well
including:
o Injection High in the Well. Injecting through an upper gaslift valve, thus not deliquifying the well from the desired
depth. This can occur if an upper valve re-opens for some
reason due to mis-design of the valves closing pressure,
unaccounted for changes in temperature, valve leakage, etc.
o Multipointing. Injecting through multiple valves, thus
wasting gas. This can occur if an upper valve is open all or
part of the time and gas injection occurs through more than
one valve all or part of the time.
o Hole in the Tubing. Injecting through a hole in the tubing,
thus wasting gas and not deliquifying from the desired depth.
This can occur if a hole has developed in the tubing due to
erosion, corrosion, poor make-up, etc.
o Heading. Unstable or heading pressure fluctuations
thus having inefficient gas-lift operation.
o Other Problems. Many other types of problems can exist at
the surface or in the well. There are entire courses that deal
with the causes of these problems, how to detect them, and
how to correct them.
A good surveillance system can detect these problems so they
can be corrected before significant losses occur. Some typical
detection methods include:

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o Automation Systems. More is said about automation

systems in a section below. Suffice it to say here that a realtime automation system can detect surface problems and
often can infer downhole problems as well. It can detect
problems with the supply of gas to the well, the injection of
gas into the well, and production from the well. It can also
detect or at least infer downhole problems by calculating
(estimating) pressure profiles in the well to determine
(estimate) the injection and production pressures at the
depth of each gas-lift valve and at the bottom of the well.
The good aspect of a real-time automation system is that it
can perform these functions 24 hours per day, seven days
per week.
o CO2 Tracer Surveys. CO2 tracer surveys are run by
injecting a small slug of CO2 with the gas-lift gas. The CO2
concentrate is measured on the production stream and from
the time of arrival of the CO2 at the surface, the depth or
depths of gas injection into the tubing can be determined.
This does not require that the wells production be stopped
and no equipment is placed in the well. This can detect the
depth of gas injection into the tubing, if multi-point injection is
occurring, or if injection is occurring through a tubing leak.
o Pressure and Temperature Surveys. Pressure and
temperature surveys can be run by inserting a
pressure/temperature measurement instrument in the well.
A flowing pressure survey is run with the well on production.
Then, production is stopped for measuring the static bottomhole pressure. The flowing pressure/temperature survey can
determine the depth(s) of gas injection. In a gas well, the
pressure gradient below the depth of injection should be
heavier due to the existence of liquid. The static pressure
survey can determine the reservoir pressure, or at least the
pressure reasonably near the wellbore. The static and
flowing bottom-hole pressures are used in determining the
inflow performance relationship for the well.

Maintenance Requirements and Concerns. The gas-lift system

must be well maintained to be effective. The most important
requirement are:
- Compression System.
o Continuously monitor the compressor suction, inter-stage,
and discharge pressure to assure proper operation.

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o The compressor(s) must be kept in balance. Check for

vibration and correct the foundation of the compressor if
vibration is excessive.
o The gas entering the compressor(s) should be cleaned of
any hydrocarbon liquids. Use a scrubber to remove any
liquids from the suction gas.
o The system must be cooled to prevent overheating. This is
usually required between compression stages. The amount
of cooling may be very different in summer than in winter.
o If there is a chance of the suction to the compressor(s) being
starved with too little gas, gas can be recalculated from the
compressor discharge to the suction.
- Dehydration System.
o Monitor the vapor content of the gas discharge to assure it is
dry.
o The dehydration system must be maintained to produce
dry gas for gas-lift injection.
o The typical target is to reduce the amount of water vapor to
less than 7 pounds of water per one million cubic feet of gas.
o Check the materials being used in the dehydration system
frequently to be certain they are in adequate supply.
- Distribution System.
o Keep the distribution piping clean of any solids or water
accumulation.
o Where possible deliver injection gas to a gas-lift manifold
and then from the manifold to the individual wells.
o Do this rather than delivering the gas directly from well to
well.
- Measurement System.
o Measure the gas-lift distribution system pressure at the
discharge of the compressor.
o If more than one compressor plant is used for a large
distribution system, measure it at each compressor station.
o For accurate gas measurement, measure the gas pressure,
temperature, and differential pressure, or turbine pulses.
o If a manifold system is being used, measure the gas
pressure and temperature upstream of the manifold and then
measure the rate of gas to each well downstream of the
control valve for each well.
o If gas is being distributed directly to each well, measure the
pressure, temperatures, and gas rate at each well.

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o In any case, measure the gas-lift injection pressure at the

wellhead, downstream of any control device or pressure
reduction device. The goal is to know the actual wellhead
injection pressure.
o Measure the production pressure at the wellhead, upstream
of any control device, wellhead choke, or choke body. The
goal is to know the actual wellhead production pressure.
o If wellhead temperature is measured, measure it at a
location where the sun can not affect the measured
temperature. The goal is to measure the temperature of the
produced fluid, not the atmosphere.
o If the wellhead production rate is measured, measure this as
close to the wellhead as possible. This measurement may
be made by measuring the differential pressure across a
wellhead choke body.
o Measure the pressure at the production manifold. The goal
is to compare the pressure at the manifold with the wellhead
production pressure to detect any flowline plugging.
- Control System.
o Various methods are used to control the gas injection rate.
These range from manually-operated chokes and control
valves, to manually-set controllers, to fully automated control
systems.
o The objective is to control the rate of injection so the overall
injected plus produced gas production rate is slightly above
the critical rate.
o Since well conditions can change with time, the control
system should be able to adjust the injection rate with time.
o When gas flow rate is controlled, there will be a pressure
drop across the control device. If the gas is not adequately
dehydrated, hydrates (ice crystals) may form and may inhibit
or block the flow of gas into the well. The recommended
approach is to dehydrate the gas so this doesnt occur. If the
gas is not dehydrated, the may be necessary to prevent
hydrate formation by heating the control device, or to remove
the hydrates if they form.
o Control devices can leak, or they can become plugged. If
the surveillance system is functioning properly, it should be
able to detect these problems so they can be corrected.
- Equipment in the Well. The equipment in the well includes the
casing, tubing, gas-lift mandrels, gas-lift valves, packer, packer
by-pass (if this is used), injection valve or orifice, etc.

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o Casing. Casing leaks can occur due to corrosion, poor

make-up, or external forces. A casing leak can be detected
in a number of ways. If one exists, it should be evaluated
and corrected if necessary.
o Tubing. Tubing leaks can occur due to corrosion, erosion,
or poor make-up. If a tubing leak exists, it can sometimes be
repaired by installing a pack-off across the leak. If the leak is
severe, it may be necessary to pull the tubing and replace
the bad joint(s). The tubing must not be too large or the gas
flow rate to achieve and maintain critical flow velocity will be
too large. Conversely, it must not be too small as this will
cause a too large pressure drop due to flowing friction.
o Mandrels. Gas-lift mandrels can leak due to corrosion,
erosion, or problems with seals. If a mandrel leak exists, it
may be possible to place a dummy valve in the mandrel or
place a pack-off across the mandrel. If the leak cant be
corrected, it may be necessary to pull the tubing and replace
the bad mandrel(s).
o Valves. Gas-lift valves can leak, be incorrectly set (wrong
set pressure), or be mis-sized. If a gas-lift valve is not
functioning properly, it can normally be pulled with wireline
and replaced.
o Packer. Packers can leak. This can allow injection pressure
to be exerted on the production formation. It may be
possible to reset the packer. If not, it may need to be pulled,
redressed or replaced, and reinstalled.
o Packer By-Pass. If gas-lift
injection is to occur beneath the
packer, there must be a system to
allow the gas to flow past the
packer and (usually) down an
injection string below the packer.
See the schematic to the right. If
this is not functioning correctly, it
must be repaired.
o Injection Valve or Orifice. The
injection valve or orifice is the point
where gas is injected into the
production path. This may be at the bottom of the casing
(above the packer) where gas is injected into the tubing, or it
may be at the bottom of an injection string where gas is
injected from the injection string into the annulus below the
packer. If an orifice is used, the most common problem is
sizing. Often the orifice is too large which can lead to
unstable operation. If the well is heading, and if the cause is

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a mis-sized orifice, it should be pulled with wireline and

redesigned.
- Wellhead System. The purposes of the wellhead are to hold
the casing and tubing, connect the flow from the tubing to the
flowline, hold the production pressure measurement device, and
hold a choke or control valve in the rare case that this is needed
to restrict flow from the well.
The wellhead should be configured to impose a minimum backpressure on the production from the well. Normally, no choke or
control valve should be used, and in some cases the choke
body should also be removed. However, it may be kept in place
in case a choke is ever needed, or a system is used to estimate
the production rate of the well by measuring the pressure drop
across the choke body.
- Gathering System. The purpose of the gathering system is to
transfer gas and liquid production from the well to the production
handling system. The gathering system must be kept clean of
water, paraffin, sand, and any other material that may inhibit
flow from the well to the handling system. The pressure drop
through the system should be monitored or checked periodically
to determine if there is any blockage. If the blocking is due to
water or paraffin, it may be possible to remove this by pigging
the line. If it is due to sand, it may be necessary to replace the
line.
- Production Handling System. The production handling
system typically consists of many parts.
o Manifold. The manifold is used to route production from
individual wells in to the test separator or the bulk separator.
Manifolds can leak and they can cause pressure drops.
They should be checked to determine if problems exist so
they can be corrected if they do.
o Test Separator. The test separator is used to measure the
production rate of gas, oil or condensate, and water from
each well, one well at a time. There are many types of
separators. The best is a three-phase separator that can
measure the rates of gas, oil or condensate, and water
separately. The separator pressure must be set so that the
back-pressure exerted by the test separator is equivalent to
the back pressure exerted by the bulk separator. And
separators can sometimes become plugged with sand,
paraffin, etc. If this occurs, the separator must be cleaned.

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o Bulk Separator. The bulk separator is used to separate the

gas and liquid or in some cases, the gas, oil or condensate,
and water. The separator pressure must be high enough so
gas can flow to the suction of the compressor, but low
enough so as to not exert a high back-pressure on the wells.
Bulk separators can also become plugged and need to be
cleaned.
o Scrubber. Typically a scrubber is used to remove liquids
from the gas before it flows into the suction of the
compressor. It must be maintained to perform this function
correctly.
o Other Equipment. There will often be other equipment in
the production facility such as free water knockout systems,
tanks, transfer pumps, generators, etc. There will be
maintenance procedures for each of these components as
well.

Cost Guidelines

Capital Expense (CAPEX). The overall capital cost of a gas-lift

system can be very expensive. However, there are several factors
to consider. The actual cost of this equipment must be determined
on a case by case basis, usually by obtaining quotations from the
equipment suppliers.
- Compression Plant. Depending on the number of
compressors, the size of the ancillary equipment (scrubbers,
coolers, dehydrators, etc.), a compression plant may cost in the
millions of dollars. However the plant can serve multiple
purposes including compressing gas for sales, for use in the
facility, and to serve many gas-lift wells. Once a compression
plant exists, the incremental cost to add another gas-lift well
may be negligible.
A wellhead or well site compressor may also serve multiple
purposes. It may compress gas to boost its pressure so it can
flow to a remote production facility, it may compress the gas to
lower the wellhead pressure to atmospheric pressure or below
to augment production from the well, and it may compress gas
for gas-lift. If a compressor is used to assist in production, the
incremental cost to boost the pressure enough for gas-lift
injection may not be excessive.
- Distribution System. If a central system is used, the
distribution system will typically serve multiple wells. The cost of
the system will depend on its design. If gas is distributed to

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manifolds and from there to individual wells, the piping cost may
be more than if the system brings gas from well to well.
However, there are advantages of the manifold design. The
primary advantage is the injection pressure for a well is
essentially independent of the injection pressure in other wells;
there is no interference between wells. If a manifold type
distribution system is already in place, the cost to add another
well to the system is the cost to add an injection line from the
manifold to the new well.
If wellhead or well site compression is used, the cost of the
distribution system is only the cost to bring the gas from the
compressor discharge to the wellhead, which may only be a few
feet.
Gas-lift on an offshore platform may be similar. Here a
compressor is installed on a platform. The cost to bring gas to
the gas-lift wells on the platform is small. If wells on another
platform or platforms in the field are served by the same
compressor(s), there must be a line (normally a subsea line) to
bring gas to the other platform(s). Here, the gas will be brought
to a manifold on the remote platform(s) and distributed from the
manifold to the individual wells.
- Wellhead Equipment. If a manifold system is used, typically
the lift gas for each well served by the manifold will be
measured and controlled at the manifold. There will be one
upstream pressure measurement, one upstream temperature
measurement, and a control valve to control the rate of gas
injection into each well.
If there is no manifold the gas pressure and temperature must
be measured at each well and the control must occur at each
well.
In either case, the injection pressure should be measured at
each well directly on the casing, downstream of any pressure
drop devices. And the production pressure should be measured
at each well directly on the wellhead, upstream of any pressure
drop devices. Further, if a production rate estimate is being
made, this should be made at each well.
- Downhole Equipment. The primary gas-lift costs in the well
are for gas-lift mandrels and valves. Enough mandrels and
valves need to be installed to permit the well to be unloaded to
the bottom. The bottom will depend on whether gas is being

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injected from the casing into the tubing above the packer, or is
being injected beneath the packer and below the perforations.
Since many gas well artificial lift systems dont use a packer, the
cost of the packer should be included with the downhole
equipment needed for gas-lift.
- Surveillance (Production Automation) Equipment.
Surveillance, monitoring, and control of gas-lift may be
performed manually, with a semi-automatic system, or with a
comprehensive production automation system. If an automation
system is used, it will entail the following cost components:
o Automation Host System. An automation host system
will normally consist of a personal computer with associated
hardware peripherals, software, database, etc. Typically, a
field will have a system to monitor and control production
facility equipment, well test systems, etc. The incremental
cost to add gas-lift to this system will be for the specific
software and database(s) required.
o Facility Remote Terminal Unit. Typically a remote terminal
unit (RTU) will be used to monitor and control the gas
compression plant and its associated equipment. The
incremental cost for gas-lift is to measure the gas-lift system
pressure.
o Injection Manifold RTU. The injection manifold will be used
to support measurement and control of the gas for each well.
This is a cost of gas-lift.
o Wellhead RTU. The wellhead RTU will be used to support
measurement of the wellhead injection and production
parameters pressure, temperature, etc. This is a cost of
gas-lift.
o Ancillary Costs. There will be additional costs for
communicating information between the automation host
system and the RTUs, and to supply power to the RTUs,
which may be solar power if electrical power isnt available.
- Other Equipment. Most of the rest of the equipment including
the wellhead, flowline, production manifold, well test separator,
bulk production separator, etc. must exist anyway so it not part
of the capital cost of the gas-lift system.

Operating Expense (OPEX). There are operating expenses to be

considered. These include:

Selection of Artificial Lift Systems for Deliquifying Gas Wells

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- Fuel. The cost of fuel to run the compression plant will be

shared by the various uses of the plant, but some will be
allocated to the cost of the gas-lift operation. If wellhead or well
site compression is used, produced gas may be used to operate
the compressor. Here the cost is equal to the value of the gas
had it been sold.
- Consumables. There will be consumables associated with
operating the dehydration facility, injecting chemicals, etc.
- Labor. The labor costs will depend on how the system is
operated and controlled. If it is done manually, there will be
labor costs associated with data collection, surveillance,
adjusting controllers, etc. If the system is automated, there will
be costs associated with using the automatically-collected
information to optimize the surveillance and control.

Repair and Maintenance Expense (R&M). On a day-to-day

basis, the R&M costs will be modest. However, at times there may
be major R&M costs to repair and maintain the compression facility,
the dehydrators, the monitoring and control equipment, and of
course, the downhole equipment. This last category should not be
minimized. If there is a leak or a malfunction downhole, this can
seriously affect the performance of the gas-lift system. When a
downhole problem (leak, mis-sized equipment, etc.) is detected, it
must be evaluated and corrected if feasible.

Life Expectancy Guidelines

Infant Mortality (Early Time Failures). Typically there are two

types of infant mortality or early time failures that can occur with
gas-lift.
- Unloading. Unloading gas-lift valves serve two general
purposes in a gas-lift well.
o Initial Unloading. They are used when gas-lift must be
started initially or after a workover when the casing annulus
is full of completion or workover fluid. They must be open
during the unloading process and then closed thereafter so
gas can be injected below them and into the operating gaslift valve or orifice. If the unloading process is too rapid and
the completion or workover fluid is pushed through the
valves too quickly, the valves can erode. If this occurs, it
may not be possible to close the valves and inject gas
beneath them. This problem can be largely prevented by
following the unloading recommendations of the American

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Petroleum Institute. These recommendations are to unload

the well slowly, with a slow build-up of injection pressure and
flow of liquid through the unloading valves.
o Kick-Off. They may be needed again if a well must be
restarted after a period of downtime. Here, there is normally
no liquid in the annulus since it has previously been
unloaded. Therefore, there is much less risk of damaging
the unloading valves.
- Mandrel and Valve Design. A second type of infant mortality
or lack of desired performance can occur if the mandrel
spacings and valve set pressures are not properly designed.
These problems can be alleviated by following conservative
design methods for mandrel spacing and using accurate
temperature estimates for the depths of the gas-lift valves.
o Mandrels. If the mandrels are too far apart, it may not be
possible to unload to the deeper valves. Conservative
mandrel spacing will result in use of more mandrels but if a
mandrel is not needed initially, a dummy can be installed.
o Valves. If the valve set pressures are not correct, it may not
be possible to close the upper valves during the unloading
process or to re-open them when they are needed for
subsequent kick-off. Accurate temperature estimates can be
made using projections of both static (earth) temperature
gradients and flowing temperature gradients measured on
other wells in the field.

Normal Operating Life. There are many things that can go wrong
in a gas-lift well, and thus the need for close surveillance of the
operation. However, the gas-lift equipment should, for the most
part, have a long operating life of many years. This will almost
certainly be true if the equipment is properly maintained. The
component most likely to fail or need replacement is the operating
gas-lift valve or orifice. There are two reasons for this.
- Operating Depth. As the well ages and production proceeds,
the reservoir pressure may change and/or the wells inflow
performance may change. When either of these occur, it may
become necessary to operate from a different (usually deeper)
valve. This may require that the valves in the well be pulled and
redesigned to allow the well to lift from a different depth.
- Operating Valve or Orifice. If the necessary gas-lift injection
rate changes, it may be necessary to change the design of the
operating gas-lift valve or orifice. This can usually be

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accomplished by pulling the valve or orifice with wireline and

replacing it.

Recommended Practices for Automation, Surveillance, and

Optimization of Continuous Gas-Lift Systems
A detailed discussion of automation, surveillance, and optimization is in
Section 4.2 of this Recommended Practice, and the documents it
references. The purpose here is to provide a brief outline of the subject.

Automation. Automation involves using computers and electronic

systems and instrumentation to automate certain gas-lift functions:
- Data Acquisition. Data is acquired from the wells and facilities
by remote terminal units (RTUs), programmable logic controllers
(PLCs), or distributed control systems (DCSs) that are installed at
the well, manifold, or facility. Typically, these systems gather data
at least once per second, and sometimes much more frequently.
They gather the data, convert is to a digital format, store it for
forwarding to the host Automation System, and may perform
calculations such as detecting alarms, calculating flow rates, etc.
- Communication. Typically the host Automation System scans
the RTUs, PLCs, or DCSs and requests transmission of the data
from them. Typically, this is done on a frequency of once every
several minutes. The host system may also communicate
parameters and commands to the remote units. These commands
may be generated automatically by the host Automation system,
or they may be entered by the system operator. The
communications are secure; they are protected to assure against
receiving or sending errors, and against being intercepted by
unauthorized 3rd parties.
- Calculations. The Automation system can make many types of
calculations. Examples include calculating the:
o Current gas flow velocity at any pertinent depth in the well.
o Critical gas flow velocity needed to achieve liquid unloading.
o Amount of gas that needs to be injected into the well to
achieve and maintain critical flow.
o Allocation of gas to each well in the case of an overall
shortage of gas in the field.
- Remote Control. The Automation system can perform remote
control of the wells. It can do this automatically based on
adjusting the gas injection rate to achieve and maintain critical

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flow. It can also do this automatically if required to balance

overall outflow from the gas-lift distribution system into the wells
with inflow into the system from the compression plant(s), high
pressure gas wells, etc. It can also do this manually when the
field operator requests a change in injection rate or requests the
injection to a well to be turned off, etc.

Surveillance. A major job of the Automation System is to

continuously monitor the gas-lift system and wells to detect any
problems. It does this in a number of ways:
- Alarms. The Automation system monitors for and detects at least
three classes of alarms.
o Class I Alarms. These are simple, straight-forward alarms
such as pressure too high or too low, flow rate too high or too
low, etc. The Automation system should contain a significant
amount of logic to filter out nuisance alarms and only report
alarms that people need to observe and on which they can
take action.
o Class II Alarms. These are alarms that are based on a
combination of information (e. g combination of pressure,
temperature, and flow data) that provide unique information of
the gas-lift operation. Examples include detection of hydrate
formation and freezing problems, detection of shallow injection
through a tubing leak or leaking upper gas-lift valve or
mandrel, detection of multi-point injection through more than
one valve all or part of the time, detection of an imbalance
between the use of gas for injection into the wells served by
the system and the source of gas into the system, and
detection of injection below the required rate to achieve and
maintain critical flow.
o Class III Alarms. These are alarms or situations that are
found by running models of the wells operation. An example is
estimation of the injection depth in the well by calculating
which valve(s) is/are open with the current injection and
production pressures and temperatures in the well.
-

Reports. The Automation system can produce several types

of reports. These reports may be produced on a fixed schedule
(e.g. daily, at shift change, etc.), on request, or on the occurrence
of some event such as a major alarm or facility upset. The reports
may contain current data, historical data, statistical data, etc.

Plots. The system can produce several types of plots. As

with reports, they may be displayed on a fixed schedule, on

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demand, or on the occurrence of a major event. The plots may

show current data or historical data. They may show variables
(e.g. pressure, temperature, flow rate, etc.) vs. time or they be x,
y plots showing pressures vs. depth.
-

Graphics. The system can display graphical images, such

as an image of a gas-lift well with key variables and parameters
shown on the image. Graphics can be of one well, a group of
wells at a well site, or of an entire distribution system.

Optimization. The word optimization means different things to

different people:
- Problem Solving. Some people say that they have optimized
their gas-lift system if they have detected and corrected problems
in the system. Most of the problem detection is done with a good
surveillance system. Problem correction requires that actions be
taken to address the problems so the system and wells operate at
peak efficiency.
- Well Optimization. Gas-lift wells are optimized if the optimum
amount of gas is being injected, at the optimum depth, to achieve
the optimum rate of production. For gas wells, the optimum
injection rate is that needed to achieve and maintain critical flow.
The optimum depth is as deep as possible, and hopefully beneath
the perforations so that the entire well is deliquified. The optimum
production rate is removal of all of the liquid so there may be free
flow of the gas. This level of optimization requires determination
of the amount of gas that is needed for deliquification, design of
the well to permit injection as deep as possible, monitoring of the
liquid production rate, and the pressure profile in the
well, to assure that all of the liquid is being produced.
- Full Field Optimization. Optimization of gas injection
into individual wells may not result in optimum operation
of the entire field. There may not be enough high
pressure gas to optimize each well. And, there may
be restrictions in distribution lines or gathering lines that
inhibit optimum production. Full field optimization
requires that the full field system be monitored and
evaluated. It may mean some wells must be operated at
less than optimum so the overall performance of the
system can be as good as it can be under the less than
ideal conditions.

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Information on Continuous Gas Circulation

The rest of this document addresses continuous gas-lift. There is a
version of continuous operating referred to as continuous gas circulation
(CGC). A schematic of this is shown to the right. It differs from normal
continuous gas-lift in several important ways.

No Packer. For continuous gas circulation, there is no packer

installed in the well. Gas is injected down the casing/tubing annulus,
around the end of the tubing, and into the tubing to produce the well.

No Gas-Lift Valves. There are no gas-lift valves. The well is

unloaded by pushing any liquid back into the formation and then
circulating the gas down the annulus and up the tubing to produce
the liquid from the well.

Continuous Operation. Whereas continuous gas-lift may be

stopped and restarted if necessary, and wells can be initially
unloaded and then kicked off, CGC must operate continuously. If a
CGC well needs to be stopped, any liquid in the well must be pushed
back into the formation to start the well again.

Gas Supply. Normally gas for CGC is supplied by using a wellhead

compressor.

CGC Advantages. The advantages of CGC are that it is lower cost

since there is no packer and no gas-lift valves. Many gas wells are
completed without a packer. So, CGC can be started in a well
without the need for a workover to install a packer and gas-lift valves.
And, since the source of high pressure gas is normally from a
wellhead compressor, there are no distribution lines and no issues
with system wide optimization or control.

CGC Disadvantages. The disadvantages are that fluid must be

pushed into the formation to start the process, and it can be difficult
to restart a well if it goes off production for some reason

Information on Intermittent Gas-Lift

Intermittent gas-lift is often used for oil wells that no longer produce
enough to sustain continuous flow gas-lift. Normally this isnt pertinent
for gas wells since the idea is to continuously remove liquids so the gas
can flow freely. However, if a well only produces a small amount of
liquid, it may not be necessary to inject gas all of the time. This would

Selection of Artificial Lift Systems for Deliquifying Gas Wells

not be true intermittent gas-lift, but might be referred to as timercontrolled gas-lift.

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