Gas Lift

Objective and Scope
Bellows integrity and containment of the design charge pressure are both essential to the successful, long-term operation of gas lift systems. Conventional bellows valves are vulnerable during high-pressure well events such as frac hits, which can place damaging stress on the bellows, cause charge pressure to vary or bleed off, and lead to premature failure through changes in...

Horizontal wellheads enable annular-flow to tubing-flow gas lift conversion without wellhead replacement or flowline reconstruction. This capability shifts the design challenge downhole: how can operators minimize downtime to convert from annular-flow to tubing-flow gas lift while maintaining dependable, cost-effective downhole designs?

‘OneLift’ is a lifecycle-oriented downhole design philosophy...

Frac hits can introduce large volumes of water into offset producing wells, disrupting established gas-lift performance and creating persistent liquid loading, unstable slugging, elevated injection-gas requirements, and delayed oil recovery. Conventional responses may include increasing injection gas, adjusting operating parameters, or allowing the well to recover gradually. These approaches can...

The newly re-engineered 1” conventional Injection-Pressure-Operated (IPO) gas lift valve delivers a major advancement in gas lift technology for five-and-a-half-inch casing applications running 2 7/8” production tubing. By doubling the nitrogen dome volume, this upgraded long-dome design significantly decreases the valve's load rate and expands its gas passage capacity, ultimately driving higher...

The concept of High Pressure Gas Lift (HPGL) was first presented to industry at the 2016 ALRDC Gas Lift Workshop in Houston Texas by a co-author of this presentation. This variant form of gas lift was made possible by the advent of Compressed Natural Gas compressor cylinders with their high pressure capabilities, and it became popular because of the high liquid flow rates achieved by flowing up...

Gas lift underinjection is a persistent operational challenge that can reduce production and destabilize well performance when compression systems fail to deliver targeted injection gas volumes. Compressor shutdowns, liquid accumulation, low fuel quality, scrubber malfunctions, and freeze-ups can interrupt gas delivery and prolong underinjection. This paper evaluates an automated compression...

Modern unconventional wells increasingly rely on gas lift compression, representing ~30% of initial artificial lift systems in the Midland Basin and ~40% in the Delaware Basin by 2024. Permian produced gas is often liquid-rich, containing higher propane and butane concentrations and specific gravities typically ranging from 0.72–0.79 (and occasionally up to ~0.97), forcing compressors to operate...

The efficient management of gas lift systems is pivotal in minimizing operational costs and maximizing production for a large majority of unconventional wells. By leveraging automated workflows to efficiently build and tune physics based nodal analysis models, operators can optimize well performance and gas injection rates thus reducing operational expenses. A cornerstone of effective gas lift...

Frac hits in unconventional developments often cause persistent liquid loading, increased flowing pressures, and reduced lift efficiency in offset gas-lift wells. These effects are largely driven by trapped frac fluids, elevated water saturation, and unstable multiphase flow, all of which delay production recovery. This paper evaluates the use of targeted surfactant treatments to accelerate post...

Oil and gas operators increasingly face difficulties optimizing production from wells characterized by variable flow regimes and dynamic pressure conditions. Conventional gas lift systems are often unable to respond effectively to these fluctuations, resulting in inefficiencies, elevated downtime, and reduced hydrocarbon recovery. These challenges are compounded by the need to control costs...