Accutant Solutions
Houston, TX, USA
5 Days

Gas Lift Design and Optimization using NODAL Analysis

  • Course Description
  • Course Details

Gas-lift is one of the predominant forms of artificial lift used for lifting liquids from conventional, unconventional, onshore and offshore assets. Gas-lift and its various forms (intermittent lift, gas-assisted plunger lift) allows life of well lift-possibilities when selected and applied properly. This course is designed to give trainees thorough understanding of gas-lift technology and related application concepts.

The course covers main components, application envelope, relative strengths and weaknesses of gas-lift and its different forms like intermittent lift, gas-assisted plunger lift. Trainees solve examples and class problems throughout the course. Animations and videos reinforce the concepts under discussion. A unique feature of this course is discussion on digital oil field and machine learning applications in gas-lift optimization.

Option: Client’s real-time system-based workflows and examples can be incorporated in the class discussions. Requires two-days of consulting and access to the client system at least 4 weeks before the class.

Instructor: Dr. Rajan Chokshi and/or Dr. Gabor Takacs

Discipline: Production – Artificial Lift

Length: 5 Days (in person) or 40-hours (Virtual in multiple sessions)

CEUs: 5.0

Availability: Public & In-House, In-House Only, Public

Who should attend:

  • Production, reservoir, completion, drilling and facilities engineers, analysts, and operators
  • Anyone interested in learning about implications of gas-lift systems for their fields and reservoirs.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Understand the fundamental theories and procedures related to Gas-Lift operations.
  • Easily recognize the different components of the gas-lift system and their basic structural and operational features.
  • Be able to design a gas-lift installation.
  • Understand how digital oilfield tools help address ESP challenges.
  • Recent advances in real-time approaches to the production monitoring and lift management

Course Content:

  • Pre-test
  • Introduction
    • Artificial Lift: When / Why / What of Lift Mechanisms; Types
    • How Gas-lift is same and different from other lift forms.
    • Well Life Cycles and gas lift Applicability vis a vis other lift methods
  • Well Performance: Review of Fundamentals
    • Systems/NODAL Analysis
    • Reservoir Performance: Productivity Index & Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)
    • PVT Analysis
    • Multiphase Flow
      • Flow Correlations & Mechanistic models; Flow Regimes/maps
      • Pressure Gradient Curves
      • VLP: Vertical Lift Performance
    • Gas Lift Installation Types
      • Tubing Flow Installations
        • Open Installation
        • Semi-Closed Installation
        • Closed Installation
        • Chamber installations
      • Casing Flow and Other Installations
    • Gas Lift Valves
      • Gas Lift Valve Types
      • Supporting Calculations
      • Valve Construction Details
      • Valve Mechanics of IPO Valves (Class Problems)
      • Dynamic Performance of Gas Lift Valves
      • Setting of Gas Lift Valves
      • Application of Gas Lift Valves
      • Running and Retrieving Gas Lift Valves
    • Continuous Flow Gas Lifting
      • Principles of Continuous Flow Gas Lifting
      • Installation Design Calculations (Class Problems)
      • The Effects of Operational Parameters
      • Surface Gas Injection Control
    • NODAL Analysis of Continuous Flow Gas Lifted Wells
      • Description of System Performance
      • Constant Wellhead Pressure Cases (Class Problems)
        • Unlimited & Limited Lift Gas Availability
        • The Equilibrium Curve Method (Class Problem)
      • Variable Wellhead Pressure Cases
      • System Stability
    • Optimization of Continuous Flow Gas Lift Installations
      • Basic Principles
      • Optimization of a Single Well for Prescribed Liquid Rate
        • Existing Compressor (Class Problem)
        • Compressor to be Selected
      • Optimization of Continuous Flow Gas Lift Installations (Cont.)
        • Single-Well Optimization for Unlimited Rate
          • The Economic Slope Method
        • Allocation of Lift Gas to a Group of Wells
          • The Equal Slope Method (Class Problem)
        • CASE STUDY: Optimizing the Operating Conditions in a Major Gas-Lifted Field
        • Unloading Design for Continuous Flow
          • Unloading Valve String Design
            • Valve String Designs (Class Problem)
          • VIDEO Presentation: The Unloading Process
        • Intermittent gas-lift basics & overview of design
        • Plunger Assisted Gas-lift & Gas-assisted Plunger lift
        • Analysis and Troubleshooting Continuous Flow Gas Lift Wells
          • Troubleshooting Tools and their Use
            • Two-Pen Pressure Recordings
            • Downhole Pressure and Temperature Surveys
            • Acoustic Surveys
          • Common Gas Lift Malfunctions
            • Downhole Problems
            • Distribution and Gathering System Problems
          • Gas Lift Application in Unconventional Production
          • Digital Oil Field for Production Optimization
            • Production Optimization and Digital Oil Field (DOF)?
            • Available Technologies
            • Downhole P/T Measurements Components
            • Surface Flow Measurement Components
            • Role of software in visualization, analysis and surveillance
          • Brief discussion on use cases for data analytics
          • Post-test