American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2019 - 81

SpecialReport: Production Operations

Novel Artiﬁcial Lift Systems Cut Costs
By Dan Holder
and Colter Cookson
The engineers behind the latest artificial
lift systems recognize that no matter how
good something gets, it always can be
made better. By boosting the reliability,
efficiency and effectiveness of everything
from gas lift systems and sucker rod
pump drives to downhole anchors, technological improvements are helping producers maximize production while reducing costs.
These improvements are motivated in
part by growth in the artificial lift market.
According to a May 2018 analysis from
Prescient & Strategic Intelligence, the
global AL market will top $10.8 billion
in 2023, up $2.8 billion from 2017. This
growth comes partly from the increasing
number of mature wells, the study says,
noting that more than 70 percent of the
world's oil is produced in fields that are
at least 30 years old.
Another major driver of growth is the
expanding global focus on ultradeepwater
and deepwater fields. However, the study
observes that the biggest trend in artificial
lift is increasing production from unconventional plays.
Typically, when producers select the
first AL system for an unconventional
well, their primary goal is to maximize
early output. "Boosting initial production
is the main driver in determining the
initial form of lift for most exploration,
drilling and production companies," says
Logan Evans, the product line manager
for gas lift and hydraulic jet pumps at
Liberty Lift Solutions LLC.
"Electric submersible pumps can deliver high IPs, so they have been the goto option for many operators looking to
boost IP in unconventional plays," he
says. "However, sand, gas and other abrasives can cause ESPs to fail. There have
been some improvements to handle the
sand and higher gas-to-liquid ratios, but
failures still are common.
"Another common problem can occur
if the well has to be shut in or the location
loses power. This can cause several feet of
sand to settle on top of the pump, making
startup problematic," Evans comments.
Pulling and repairing an ESP can be
expensive, so Evans says many producers
favor gas lift in areas with enough gas
and compression to support it. "Gas lift

works well in highly deviated wells that
produce a lot of sand," he describes.
"Issues are less expensive to repair because
most of the investment is in the compression at surface.
"In the past, gas lift could not deliver
the high production rates associated with
ESPs," Evans acknowledges. "Inside 27⁄8inch tubing, which is typical for lower48 unconventional wells, even a welldesigned system can only produce 2,0003,000 barrels a day before friction becomes an issue. To get around that, operators are installing systems that produce
up the annulus between the casing and
tubing, where there is enough space to
lift 7,000 bbl/d."
Rigless Swap
As a well matures and its bottomhole pressure and daily production fall,
Evans says producing from inside the
tubing becomes more efficient because
the smaller area reduces the critical velocities required to move fluid to the surface. "Switching from annular flow to
tubing flow used to require bringing a
workover rig on site to pull the tubing.
However, we have developed a hybrid
gas lift system that allows operators to
switch from annular to tubular flow by
using slick line to remove or replace a
tubing plug," he reports.
This rigless swap is possible because

Liberty Lift's system-a patent-pending
hybrid technology called HyRate™, uses
an externally mounted mandrel that allows
annular flow without reducing the tubing's
inner diameter, Evans says. Because these
mandrels remain in place after the first
switch, he says, operators can go back to
annular flow when needed. For example,
they may use it to unload the well if it is
hit with an offset frac.
"The hybrid system is performing extremely well," Evans reveals. "We started
with just a few trials, and now have
gained wide acceptance among customers
who have tried the system."
To make its gas lift systems more effective, Evans mentions, Liberty Lift is
testing controllers equipped with artificial
intelligence and is pulling data from downhole pressure and temperature gauges.
"By having these controllers gather
real-time data to monitor, evaluate and
adjust compression, we are working
toward making these systems truly automated and easier for our customers to
operate and optimize," he outlines. "For
now, we still are checking and approving
every change the AI-powered controllers
suggest. It's rare for us to overrule them,
so we are excited about their potential."
High-Pressure Gas Lift
Matt Young, sales manager for Flowco
Production Solutions, reports the com-

Liberty Lift's HyRate™ hybrid
gas lift system simpliﬁes the
switch from producing up the
annulus, which is ideal during
initial production, to producing
up the tubing, which becomes
more efficient as reservoir pressures decline. The system does
so by replacing the internal
mandrel traditionally used for
gas-lift-supported annular production with the external mandrel shown here. Because it
leaves the tubing's inner diameter unrestricted, the external
mandrel allows the tubing plug
to be pulled with slickline, at
which point other preset mandrels enable production up the
tubing. Liberty emphasizes that
this slickline-based switch eliminates the need to bring a
workover rig on site to pull the
tubing, making it faster and
more affordable.

FEBRUARY 2019 81

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