Design of Intermittent Gas Lift Installations

Design of Intermittent Gas Lift Installations

We continue our design of gas lift installations by turning to intermittent flow systems. You will remember that
during intermittent gas lift, liquid is allowed to accumulate in the tubing above the gas lift valve. On a cyclic
basis, the liquid is lifted to the surface in a "slug" or piston form by the injection of high pressure gas below the
slug. The injected gas expands and displaces the slug to the surface. Intermittent gas lift operation, then, is a
cyclic operation and the cycle can be divided into three periods: The lift period, the inflow period, and the
pressure reduction period ( Figure 1 ).

Figure 1

The inflow period occurs when fluid flows from the formation into the wellbore and collects in the tubing above
the gas lift valve.

The lift period begins when a sufficient volume of liquid has accumulated and gas is injected through the
operating valve to lift the slug to the surface.

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The pressure reduction period begins after the gas slug reaches the surface and the gas lift valve closes. During
this period the lift gas pressure is dissipated, allowing the inflow period to begin again.

A plot of the pressure at the operating valve versus time is shown in Figure 1 . In this case the inflow period
builds the pressure to about 550 psi. Gas is then injected and the liquid slug is displaced to the surface. The
pressure reaches a maximum value of 750 psi and then decreases slightly during the slug movement. The lift
period lasts for about eight minutes. The valve then closes, the pressure reduction period begins and continues
until the pressure drops below 300 psi. As the pressure falls, inflow from the formation begins again. The time
between lifts for this system is about 38 minutes.

We see, then, that the intermittent cycle is controlled by regulating the frequency or injection, the gas flow rate
during injection, and the total quantity or gas injected during each lift period. Maximum production from
intermittent lift will occur when each period or the lift cycle is optimized. Our design, then, should be one that
gives maximum liquid recovery with an economical volume or injected gas.

Estimating the Production Capability of an Intermittent Gas Lift Well

The production capability or an intermittent gas lift system depends on three factors:

• the starting load,

• the efficiency or the lift, and

• the number or cycles per day

We shall discuss each in order.

The starting load reflects the pressure at the operating valve just as the valve opens. It represents the pressure
imposed at the operating valve by the buildup of liquid in the tubing above it.

Field operations indicate that a starting load or 65 to 75 percent or the gas pressure in the annulus at the operating
valve results in a slug velocity in the optimum recovery range. This corresponds to a gas pressure of 1.3 - 1.5
times greater than the pressure in the tubing as the valve opens and displacement begins. It has been shown that
this pressure difference will provide slug velocities or 900 to 1200 feed/minute which are needed for optimum
recovery.

For normal design situations, the 65 percent starting load factor is used, that is, the liquid is allowed to build up in
the tubing until the tubing pressure is equal to 65 percent or the available casing pressure. The excess casing
pressure provides the slug velocity. The upper limit or the design range, that is, 75 percent, is used when there is
a high surface tubing pressure or a high gas delivery rate into the tubing.

We may calculate the volume of liquid in the tubing with this starting load as follows:

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(1.2)

where:

∆p = the pressure imposed by the fluid in the tubing above the valve. It is equal to the bottomhole tubing
pressure, pt, minus the surface tubing pressure, pts,

h = height of rise or liquid in the tubing. Ignoring the gas column in the tubing, it is equal to p divided by the
pressure gradient of the produced liquid, Gs, in consistent units,

Ftb = tubing volume factor, volume / unit of length,

Be = the liquid influx volume/cycle. Be, then, represents the volume of liquid in the tubing available for lift
during each cycle.

The next consideration is whether this liquid inflow into the tubing is totally lifted during a cycle and, if not, what
level of efficiency exists.

We know that as a slug of liquid moves up the tubing during lift, some of the liquid adheres to the tubing walls
and some becomes entrained as droplets in the gas phase. The lost liquid is referred to as holdup.

Field tests have shown that a holdup of 5 - 7 percent of the starting load per 1000 feet of lift will exist when the
starting load is within the recommended 65-75 Percent. These are the conditions when the slug velocity is at an
optimum and holdup will be low.

For an assumed loss of 5 percent per 1000 feet of vertical lift, the efficiency of lift, E, will be equal to:

(1.3)

where:

E = efficiency of lift, percent

Dv = depth to the gas lift valve, feet.

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If, for example, the gas lift valve is at a depth of 4000 feet, the efficiency of lift will be:

With this information, we may calculate Bt, the liquid produced per cycle.

. (1.4)

We should produce, then, 80 percent of our starting load.

We now know how to calculate the volume of liquid produced per cycle. What remains, then, is to calculate the
number of cycles possible per day. This number depends on the depth of lift as well as the length of time required
for the pressure reduction and inflow periods. The cycle time is usually adjusted in the field under actual
operating conditions but initial estimates may be made. As a practical matter, we may assume that the minimum
time per cycle is in the range of 1.5 - 3.0 minutes per 1000 feet of lift.

If the minimum time per cycle were 3 minutes per 1000 feet of depth, for example, the maximum number of
cycles per day, Nc, would be approximately equal to:

(1.5)

where:

Nc = cycles / day
1440 = minutes / day.

(Note that if the minimum cycle time was, say, 1.5 minutes per 1000 feet, Nc would be 240 cycles/day.)

For an operating valve located at a depth of 4000 feet and this minimum cycle time factor of 3 minutes per 1000
feet of depth, then the maximum number of cycles per day is:

The daily production, then, is obtained by multiplying Nc by Bt. When the intermittent system is installed in the

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field you may find from experience that the ideal number of cycles per day is less than this maximum. This
estimate provides a good starting point. It is through field testing that the appropriate cycle control is ultimately
set.

We now have a procedure for designing our intermitting lift system, or, at least, a means to calculate the system’s
maximum production capability. The procedure requires that we start with the known wellbore and fluid data and
calculate the liquid inflow, volume per lift cycle, Be, using a 65 percent load factor; then, we calculate the lift
efficiency, E; next, the maximum number or cycles per day, Nc; and then the maximum daily production rate, q.
We see that q will equal:

Sample Problem: We shall apply this procedure to estimate the production capability of a well. We are told that
the depth of the operating valve is 8000 feet; the tubing size is 2 3/8-inches OD, the surface tubing pressure is
100 psi, the surface operating gas pressure is 800 psi, the gas gravity is 0.65, and the oil gradient is 0.40 psi per
foot. We wish to calculate the maximum daily production rate of the well under intermittent gas lift operations.

To obtain a solution, we follow the procedures just described. First, we calculate the liquid inflow per cycle. To
do this, we must calculate the gas pressure in the annul us opposite the operating valve, with a known surface
pressure of 800 psi, and an estimated gas gradient of 0.02125 psi/ft. We find the gas pressure at the operating
valve to be:

pc = 800 + 0.02125 (8000) = 970 psi.

Using a 65 percent load factor, we find _p:

∆p = pt - pts

pt = 0.65 pc = 0.65 (970) = 630 psi

∆p = 630 - 100 = 530 psi.

With this pressure, our produced liquid should rise in the tubing a total of:

This is equivalent to a liquid inflow volume of:

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Ftb = 0.0038 bbl/ft (from tables or calculations)

Be = hFtb = (1325) (0.0038) = 5.03 bbls.

Next, we calculate the lift efficiency. For a depth of 8000 feet and an assumed S percent loss per 1000 ft., we
calculate it to be:

With a 60 percent lift efficiency, we find the liquid production per cycle to be:

Bt = 0.60 (5.03) = 3.02 bbls/cycle.

Next, we calculate the maximum number of cycles possible per day. For a gas lift operating valve located at a
depth of 8000 feet, we find it to be equal to:

We complete our calculations by combining the production per cycle and the maximum number of cycles per day
to give us a maximum production rate of:

q = NcBt = (60) (3.02) = 180 BOPD.

If our inflow performance calculations indicate that the well will sustain this rate, it is very likely a good design.
Some field adjustment, though, will very likely be required.

Valve Selection

Now that we have learned the procedure for calculating production rates, we

must complete our intermittent gas lift design. To do this, we must select the appropriate operating valve,
estimate the injection gas requirements per cycle, discuss gas flow control at the surface, and make sure that we
are able to unload the well. We begin with valve selection.

The primary requirement of an operating valve used in intermittent lift is that it is able to handle a large volume
of gas in a short period of time. From our earlier discussion on valves, you will agree that this is an ideal
application for the pilot-operated valve. Its large port allows a large volume of gas to pass once the valve is
opened. A properly designed dome-charged valve may also be used. In some cases, a fluid-operated valve may be

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selected, however, because its port is small, it will require a series of operating valves, opening in succession to
propel the slug up the tubing.

Calculating Required Gas Volumes

Next, we should consider the volume or gas required during an intermittent cycle. Two-phase slug flow is a
complex phenomenon and it is difficult to calculate the exact gas volumes required. for estimating purposes, we
may assume that the volume required is equal to the volume or gas left in the tubing just as the slug reaches the
surface. We may also assume that the gas in the tubing is at a pressure equal to the average or the two values or
tubing pressure when the valve opens and closes.

The basic gas volume required per cycle is equal to:

(1.6)

where:

pt = the pressure at the operating valve;

pvc = the pressure just as the valve closes;

Vt = the volume of tubing not occupied by liquid, and;

pa = atmosphere pressure (used to convert gas volume in the tubing to standard conditions).

We have not included the effects of temperature and compressibility because our estimate is approximate.

We may apply this equation to our example. We know that the valve opening pressure is 970 psi and we are told
that its closing pressure is 725 psi. The tubing length is 8000 feet and we have calculated that the liquid fills 1325
feet of it. The 2 3/8-inch tubing contains 0.0217 cubic feet per foot of length. The tubing gas volume, then, is:

Vt = (8000 - 1325) (0.0217) = 144.8 cu. ft.

When we convert this to the number of standard cubic feet contained in the tubing at the average pressure, we
find a value of:

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This is the volume of gas required per cycle. We must conserve and reuse the lift gas in subsequent cycles to
create an efficient production operation.

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