American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2020 - 92

Production Technology

Gas-assisted plunger lift is growing in popularity among horizontal well operators. In
many applications, CSI Compressco explains, the artificial lift technique offers lower operating costs than pure gas lift systems or rod pumps. It also enables production tubing
to be placed further into the well's curve.

each month. "By adding a compressor
and injection system, we control flowing
tubing pressure, so we can keep the
plunger moving and production flowing
even when pipeline pressures increase,"
he reports.
To determine how much gas to inject,
CSI Compressco's system monitors tubing
pressure to calculate the volume of gas
flowing through the tubing, Boles describes. When the flow rate falls below a
set point-often 300-350 Mcf/d-injection
begins. If it is above that, the gas is sent
to the sales line. "This system is affordable,
easy to maintain and reliable," he assures.
"In fact, we have not had any issues with
the first injection systems we installed,
and they have been running for 12 years."
Water Management
To reduce their freshwater consumption, relieve disposal well capacity constraints and keep trucks off the road,
many operators are moving to recycle as
much produced water as possible, reports
Natasha Cherednichenko, vice president
of TETRA Technologies' water and flowback services division.
Automation is key to treating and storing the produced water, transferring it to
the well site and blending it with freshwater
during the completion process, Cherednichenko contends. "Automation lets us
look at the entire system and make optimizations in real time that would be im92 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

possible to implement if we had to do
them manually," she explains. "It helps
us achieve consistent cost savings for
our customers."
As one example of those savings,
Cherednichenko points to water transfer
pumps. "By connecting the pumps together
and monitoring data on each pump's engine, speed, discharge and inlet water
pressure, water temperature, flow rate
and fuel level, we can reduce fuel consumption and pressure-related events that

could cause safety issues or downtime.
At the same time, we can improve operating efficiency," she says. "This optimization trims fuel consumption as much
as 30% and personnel-related costs as
much as 50%."
TETRA's automation systems also adjust the ratio of produced water to freshwater continuously to keep the frac fluid's
quality consistent and optimize friction
reducer concentration, Cherednichenko
says. Meanwhile, water tanks are monitored to mitigate health, safety and environmental risks and downtime associated
with overflows.
For one West Texas operator, automating water management enabled produced
water reuse. This cut the operator's freshwater consumption 50% and slashed operating costs, Cherednichenko relates.
"As we apply data analytics and deep
learning to each step in the water management process, water reuse is going to
become even more sustainable and economic," she predicts. "We are working
toward a day where it will be safe and affordable to reuse most produced water in
the oil and gas industry or in other applications, such as irrigation. That flexibility
should make water recycling economically
feasible even in areas with limited completion activity."
Downhole Optimizations
Automating surface equipment can
have tremendous benefits, but to maximize

By automating every step in its water management systems, TETRA Technologies is making produced water reuse more affordable. In many cases, the company says the cost
savings are enough to allow operators to achieve 100 percent recycling rates.

American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2020

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