Flowback Methodology (Slow Ramp, vs Open), Design and Timing of Installation of First Artificial Lift Method
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 near phase boundaries. Temperature changes during staged compression can cause liquid dropout, contributing to downtime.
Gas Lift Optimization Achieved at Scale Through Automated Model Building, Automatic Model Tuning, and Application of Autonomous Control Logic Through an Enterprise Production Optimization Solution
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 optimization is the seamless integration of real-time data with physics-based models.
Surfactant-Assisted Frac-Hit Production Recovery in Gas-Lift Wells
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–frac-hit cleanup and restore gas-lift performance.
Addressing Gas Lift Challenges With Innovative surface-Controlled Technology
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, particularly in marginal or complex well environments.
Insights into Intermittent Gas Lift: Lessons from Field Experiments and Operations
Intermittent gas lift (IGL) is emerging as a key late-life artificial lift method for the growing number of aging horizontal wells in the Permian Basin. With more than 20,000 wells on continuous gas lift, operators face challenges in converting to IGL and operating it effectively. This study synthesizes lessons gathered from controlled IGL experiments at the Texas Tech Oilfield Technology Center (OTC) and multiple Permian Basin wells.
High Pressure Gas Lift (HPGL) Upper Completion Design Strategy
This paper explores the High Pressure Gas Lift Upper Completion Design Strategy in the Delaware Basin, focusing on optimizing gas lift design for a life-of-well approach that ensures optimal economics. Various design options are assessed to balance cost savings, reliability, and operational efficiency. A comparative analysis of different gas lift designs, including Single Point (no GLV), Side-Pocket Mandrels (SPM), High Pressure GLV, Hybrid Gas Lift Designs, Traditional GLV with 10k Check Valve, and Traditional GLV with Burst Disc, was conducted.
Field Evidence of Check-Valve Durability Under API Kickoff Gas-Lift Operating Conditions
The standard API kickoff procedure for gas-lift wells relies on stepwise injection of lift gas into the casing to displace kill fluid from the annulus and lighten the tubing fluid column. In practice, however, solids present in completion fluids can cause severe erosion of check valves—an issue not adequately represented in current API qualification tests, which require flow testing only with clean water.
Clarifying the Crystal Ball: A New Nodal-Modeling Workflow to Predict Production from Different Lift Strategies
OBJECTIVES/SCOPE:
The presentation will review a new modeling workflow utilizing dynamic, iterative nodal analysis with cumulative-based IPR indexing to generate production profiles for different operating scenarios for a given base-case production forecast. Output profiles can be tested for value in an
economic model. This workflow has been used to rebase the high-pressure gas lift strategy in Delaware Basin and evaluate production impacts of other initiatives (surface-controlled gas lift and smaller annular areas).
GALLOP into Late-Life Production: Extending Well Life by Unloading from the Lateral
Objective/Scope:
Presentation will review design, installation, and results of recent novel artificial lift pilot in the DJ Basin.
GALLOP (Gas Assisted Liquid Lift Oscillating Pressure) is a new variant of gas-lift, designed to unload
horizontal wells from the lateral. Unloading from the lateral can add years to a well’s life by preventing
heel loading when reservoir pressure drops too low to keep a well unloaded between the lateral and the
end of tubing.
Methods/Procedures/Process:
Dissolvable Packers: Enabling Day-One Gas Lift and Setting a New Well Control Standard in High-Pressure Wells
In the Delaware Basin, traditional well control during high-pressure annular gas lift installations often introduced risks of formation damage, restricted wellbore access, costly interventions, and extended non-productive time. A dissolvable packer eliminated these drawbacks by delivering reliable pressure isolation without kill fluids, snubbing, or retrieval operations, enabling day-one gas lift.