The case for liquid-assisted gas lift unloading
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-1-2018
Abstract
The case for a unique form of gas lift unloading, termed liquid-assisted gas lift (LAGL), is presented. This work demonstrates that the injection of a gas/liquid mixture allows the transport of gas to a deep injection point with injection pressure considerably lower than single-phase gas injection. The LAGL is demonstrated in a 2,880-ft-deep test well, by use of natural gas and water. The test well is kicked off with an injection pressure that would normally be higher than the pressure for single-point single-phase gas injection at this depth. Experimental results indicate that the proposed technique can lower the surface injection-pressure requirements by up to 75% for the scenarios investigated in this study compared with single-point gas lift unloading.
Publication Source (Journal or Book title)
SPE Production and Operations
First Page
73
Last Page
84
Recommended Citation
Coutinho, R., Williams, W., Waltrich, P., Mehdizadeh, P., Scott, S., Xu, J., & Mabry, W. (2018). The case for liquid-assisted gas lift unloading. SPE Production and Operations, 33 (1), 73-84. https://doi.org/10.2118/187943-pa