American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2022 - 77

FIGURE 4
Horsepower Needed To Hit Production Target At Various Injection Pressures
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
500
1,000
1,500
Gas Injection Pressure (Surface)
www.rodguides.com
each production rate shown in the equilibrium
curve to generate an optimum
gas injection rate for each potential production
rate.
Sometimes it's possible to inject a
higher volume of low-pressure gas at a
shallow depth and get the same production
as with injecting a lower volume of highpressure
gas at a deeper depth. However,
the compression horsepower required to
do this will be higher.
Figure 4 shows the calculated compressor
horsepower required to deliver
gas to achieve different gas lift production
rates for a selected well design. For example,
for the sample well to produce
3,000 barrels of liquid a day, 158 horsepower
is required if the injection pressure
is 800 psi and the injection rate is 1.7
million cubic feet of gas a day. The same
production can be achieved with only 50
horsepower by dropping the injection
rate is 0.3 MMcf/d but raising the injection
pressure to 2,000 psi.
This example supports the proposition
that injecting lift gas deeper will result
in a more efficient gas lift operation.
That holds true across enough applications
that gas usually should be injected
at the deepest point in the production
string unless equipment constraints make
that impossible.
Creating and analyzing equilibrium
curves can help engineers determine
the optimum gas lift injection depth,
pressure and rate to achieve their production
goals. Gas usually should be
injected at the deepest point in the production
string, for it is at this point that
the amount of gas injected can be optimized
to make the gas lift system as efficient
as possible. In addition, it is at
this point that the compressor horsepower
will be the lowest, the most efficient
and the most economic.
❒
Editor's Note: This article is adapted
from " Using the Equilibrium Curve Concept
to Determine the Most Efficient Gas
Lift Injection Pressure and Rate for A
Well, " a paper presented at the Southwestern
Petroleum Short Course, which
was held April 18-21 at the Lubbock
Memorial Civic Center in Lubbock, Tx.
ROBERT VINCENT is the president
of Qmax Oil and Gas Consulting
LLC and a production and operations
consultant who works with
PL Tech LLC. His career spans four
decades and includes time with Texaco/Chevron,
Occidental Petroleum
and Williams/WPX. He has operated
everything from deep, hot and sour
gas wells in the Williston Basin to
primary, secondary and tertiary projects
in the Rocky Mountains and
Permian Basin, large steam floods
in California and heavy oil production
in Northern Canada. Today, Vincent
focuses on providing training related
to artificial lift design, installation,
operation, optimization and troubleshooting,
including failure reduction
processes and nodal analysis.
Oilfield Improvements®
ULTRA-FLOW®
FIELD-INSTALLED
CENTRALIZERS/
PARAFFIN SCRAPERS
Full-circle Wiping
of Tubing I.D.
More Gripping
Force on Sucker Rods
More Fluid Flow-by
Volume
Longer Useful LIfe
from Longer Vanes
& Bearing Surfaces
Positive Wear
Indicators
Amodel with Glass Fill
CALL 1-800-LES WEAR
(800-537-9327) OR YOUR
Oilfield Supply Store
www.rodguides.com
®
1902 N. Yellowood Ave.
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74012 U.S.A.
JUNE 2022 77
®
2,000
2,500
3,000
Wheels are
Field-replaceable
Call
800-537-9327
or Your Oilfield
Supply Store
Production Target
3,000 BLPD
3,500 BLPD
4,000 BLPD
4,500 BLPD
5,000 BLPD
Oilfield Improvements®
®
WHEELED ROD GUIDE
COUPLINGS
For Deviated,
Directional and
Horizontal Wells
Used Successfully for Over
27 Years by Over 90% of
Major Oil & Gas Companies
in Over 40 Countries -
Onshore and Offshore
1902 N. Yellowood Ave.
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74012 U.S.A.
PHO 918-250-5584 * FAX 918-250-4666
Compressor Horsepower
http://www.rodguides.com http://www.rodguides.com
American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2022
